The Walking Dead: Lee and Clem
by Demigod of Hyrule
Summary: Lee avoids getting bitten by the walker and survives, changing the story of Clementine's life. Follow the two pair as they meet many new friends, enemies, and develop one of the strongest bonds together. T for now, subject to change.
1. Saving Clementine

**Chapter 1: Saving Clementine**

* * *

Lee had been really worried. After Clementine had mysteriously disappeared, he knew that he had to get her back. He had just found her hat laying on the floor, which he had picked up. It worried him greatly. Had Vernon taken her? What was this?

Lee groaned inwardly. He could not afford to lose Clementine. No way. He had promised he'd take of her, and he would do anything within his power to keep that promise. As he continued to walk, he couldn't help but to think about all the deaths of his friends. Katjaa was no more as was Duck. Lily was left on her own, as Larry's head was smashed. Carley was shot in the head and Doug was eaten by walkers. Lee immediately thought about Glenn, hoping that he had made it. He also though about Ben, and how he was dropped from the bell tower.

"Damn kid," Lee winced. "There must've been a better way."

Lee heard a crunching noise that brought him out of his thoughts as he saw Clem's walkie talkie on the floor.

"Her walkie talkie," Lee gasped to himself as he scanned the surroundings. There were trash cans that were hidden by a cardboard box. He knew he had to get to the radio, but he knew he had to make sure that all was safe. He slowly approached the box as he kicked it down.

"GRAAH!" yelled a walker.

"Shit!"

The walker lunged at Lee and took him to the ground. Lee was fighting for his life as he felt adrenaline rush throughout his body. He couldn't get bitten, not now! He used all his strength as he slowly overpowered the walker and threw him to the ground. He smashed the walker's head in multiple times to make sure it was dead. After Lee made sure the walker had died, he shakily got up, checking his body for scratches. His blood ran cold at the mere thought of having been infected.

Thankfully, he hadn't been bitten.

"If if I had gone for that walkie talkie blindly, that might have been the end for me," Lee sighed to himself. "I have to be much more careful, for Clementine's sake."

"Lee, Lee?" he heard Omid's voice.

He looked over the fence of the house they had stayed in to see Kenny, Omid, and Christa walk out, calling for him.

"Guys, I'm over here!" Lee raised his voice as they all walked over to him.

"There you are, what happened?" Kenny worriedly asked. "Vernon isn't here. I think he left! Also, Clementine's gone! Wait, is that her hat, and her walkie talkie? What the hell? Lee, where's Clem?"

Lee felt fire in his heart. "Someone took her."

"No...no." Christa's eyes widened in shock.

"Who Lee? Do you know?" Omid asked.

"Vernon talked me to me yesterday about taking Clementine with him, so I think it-"

"It may be him!" Kenny finished for Lee. "Dammit Lee, did you agree?"

"Hell no!" Lee growled. "I wouldn't leave my girl with him. I told him to walk away. Pissed him off, but he isn't taking Clementine away from me...from us."

"Damn right. Once I get my hands on him..." Kenny growled.

"Easy there Kenny," Christa said. "Lee, what do you need from us? Anything you need, and we'll be willing to help."

"Really? You'd help me...find Clementine?" Lee hopefully asked.

Omid looked at him like he was crazy. "Ar-are you serious right now? Of course we'll help you! The more the better, right Christa?"

"Right," Christa firmly nodded. "She's our responsibility too Lee. You can count us in."

Lee smiled. He felt very encouraged by their support. Maybe he would end up finding Clementine. No...he will find Clementine, no matter what the cost.

Lee then turned to Kenny who sighed and looked at Lee. Lee held his breath, hoping Kenny would support him, but that thought faded when Kenny had a kind of an irritated look.

"Hahahaha!" Kenny burst out laughing. "Don't make that face at me Lee. Do you honestly think I wasn't going to help you? You've been there for me when I needed you. You helped defend my boy and stood up for me from that 'piece o' shit' Larry. We're a team. Of course I'm with you."

"Ah," Lee smiled. "Trust is really important. I'm glad I received of all your trust."

"You received it when long before," Kenny said. "Look, I may have sometimes been very angry and irrational, but that's just my personality. I care for you Lee, and I care for Clementine, so don't let what I say get to you that much."

"I understand Kenny." Lee replied.

"Hey, what about us?" Omid crossed his arm.

"What about you?" Kenny scoffed, raising his eyebrow.

"Hey man-!" Omid began complaining as Kenny chuckled.

"I'm kidding little dude, I'm kidding."

"Little?" Omid asked, offended.

"Drop it honey," Christa firmly said. "We're wasting time by just staying here."

"Wait a minute!" Kenny immediately replied. "What about the boat? Are we just going to leave it here? What if someone steals it?"

"If they were to steal it, it would've already been stolen by now," Christa pointed out. "Don't worry. Lee, where to?"

Lee thought for a moment. Would it really be safe to leave the boat here alone? What if someone did take it? There was a man that had been here, whom Lee caught. What if he came back? Hell, what if Vernon and those bastards also came back? He didn't want to take any risks, but he had to find Clementine. Clementine was more valuable to him than any damn boat in this entire planet.

"We should head back to Vernon's place and see if he's still there. I know where he is, so just follow me, okay? We're going down the sewage, so um, prepare for the smell because trust me, it smells like shit," Lee said.

"Gee Lee, do you want a Captain Obvious award?" Kenny asked. "I thought it'd smell like roses and lollipops in there."

"That'd be nice," Omid wistfully thought.

Lee chuckled and shook his head as the group walked over to an open manhole that would take them throughout the city of Savannah. The smell already had reached their noises, as most held their breath.

"Jesus," Kenny shook his head in disgust.

"Well guys, here goes nothing," Lee sighed, "Just follow my lead."

* * *

The group had navigated their way through the sewers as they found themselves at the doorstep of the morgue, where the cancer rehab patients had been staying.

"Here it is," Lee whispered, as he took out his gun and scanned the area, "Ready? Let's go."

Lee opened the door and looked inside, scanning his surroundings, to make sure he and his group were safe.

"Vernon, where the fuck is Clementine?!" he growled. "You better come out now with her! I don't want any trouble. Just give us Clementine back, and you can walk away."

He was only met by silence.

"Shit, where the fuck is he?" Kenny asked, irritated. "Let's check this place out, find out if there is anything interesting for the taking. Christa, Omid, search the cabinets over there. Lee, you can search the top row, and I'll make sure no walkers get in. Let's get to it."

The group spread out and began searching. Lee began opening the cabinets on the top row hoping to find something useful. The cabinets were mostly empty, with only a rib spreader on one of them.

"Geeze, wouldn't want to use this on a body," Lee sighed as he took it, and put it on his back pocket.

Lee closed the cabinet doors and looked to see an elevator that was closed.

"I found an elevator guys," Lee called out.

"That's great, can you get it to work?" Kenny asked.

"I'll try my best. Got this rib spreader, so it should be pretty easy."

"A rib spreader, huh? Glad to know we won't have to use that on a body..."

"Not yet," Lee agreed.

"Let's hope we never get to use it," Christa scoffed. "Though the elevator looks tightly shut. You think you can try opening it with the rib spreader?"

"That's exactly what I was going to do," Lee affirmed. "Well, I'll get to it."

"Oh please, yes."

Lee sighed as he approached the elevator and inserted the spreader right in the middle of the hole. He cranked the spreader, as it forced the doors open. It took quite a lot of force as Lee found himself sometimes short of breath, but he had to open it.

"RRRGH!" Lee growled as he finally pried the door open, as they were greeted by darkness with only a faint light.

"Woah, nice job," Omid smiled. "Finally we are going somewhere. Well, let's go."

They entered to see the elevator shaft empty, as there was a ladder that took them straight to the roof. It was a pretty long climb, as they also heard sounds of walkers up there somewhere.

"Yep, I hear those damn bitches," Kenny sighed. "Alright, everyone head up silently, okay? No one make a noise."

"I"m sure they will hear us climbing up the ladder," Christa stated.

"That's not what I meant, you know it."

"All right guys, enough," Omid replied. "We are wasting time. Let's go up and see what we can do next."

The four began climbing the ladder slowly.

They heard the gurgle of walker's becoming louder and louder as they passed by an open floor. Lee squinted as he saw a faintly moving body about to fall off the space.

"Shit! Watch out! Walker!" Lee warned just as a walker tumbled down, narrowly missing Kenny.

"Well shit!" he breathed out. "That was a close one. Thanks Lee."

"No problem. We're almost there!"

After a little more climbing, they found themselves on the roof of a hospital. They finally had a chance to take a deep breath as they scanned the area. What they saw was the now decayed town of Crawford, with thousands of walkers roaming about.

"Damn...that's so many," Christa breathed out. "It's crazy...how they get here? Did they track us here?"

"They don't track us down...they just roam," Kenny replied.

"Oh, do they? I mean, the train wasn't discreet at all," Christa crossed her arms.

Lee decided to interject because things got too far. "Clem is down there somewhere. We have to find her. Anything here that we can use to get through town?"

"I think maybe we can use that bell?" Omid asked, pointing across from where they were to a huge bell. "We can ring that and lure the walkers to it."

"That's a really good plan," Lee smiled. "Great observation."

"How the hell are we going to get across to it, though?" Kenny replied. "I highly doubt any of us would be able to jump there. We have to find like a bridge of some sorts to cross the gap. Hey, there's a ladder over here. Do you think it'll reach? It looks like it extends."

"Let's try it out," Lee encouraged as he heaved the ladder with the help of Kenny and Omid as they gently extended the ladder to its fullest and laid it down. Thankfully, the ladder was long enough for it to reach the bell tower.

"Hey, I should go," Kenny sighed. "You've done enough already Lee and Omid's leg is still busted."

"If you want me to, I can do it man," Omid replied. "My leg's feeling better."

"We simply can't risk it."

"Ken, I'll do it. No problem," Lee gently said. "It's okay Kenny. Just catch a breath here, alright?"

Kenny stared at Lee for a second. "Yeah, okay. Thanks man."

"No problem at all."

Lee grabbed the rung of the ladder and placed his footing. The ladder shook a bit, but other than that, it showed no signs of breaking or falling off course.

"So far so good man!" Kenny cheered him on. "Oh wait, it looks rickety!"

"Thanks Kenny! Next time, keep that to yourself!" Lee growled.

Kenny chuckled as Lee continued on. As he proceeded on, he felt the balance become unstable as it began shaking, and slowly, it slid off course. Lee knew that he would have to jump or fall to his death. He rushed up the ladder and just as the tip fell of, he grabbed the edge of the bell tower and hoisted himself up to safety.

"Holy shit, are you okay man?" came Omid's worried voice. "You almost died!"

"Geeze, I don't need to hear that now!" Lee angrily said. "I'm okay for now. Thanks."

"You did great Lee, now all you need to do is ring that bell," Christa instructed. "But before you do that, find out how you will come back here. Anything up there you can use?"

"If not, the only option is to jump," Kenny helpfully added. "Don't worry...it's not far...well, it's not that far."

"Thank you guys for the positive words of encouragement," Lee rolled his eyes. "Nothing is up in this bell tower though. Jumping is my best bet. Let me ring the bell."

Lee grabbed the rope and pulled it down, as it caused the bell swing back and forth, making a lot of noise. Lee had to hold his hand over his ears to avoid damaging his ears. Lee looked to see the walkers all stumble to their location.

"You did it, now jump!" Kenny said. "Jump!"

"Just a minute man!"

Lee surveyed the jump. It didn't look far, like Kenny had said. He knew that if he didn't jump, he would be stuck here forever, so he built up his courage as he headed to the back, to give him room to gain speed. He ran as he jumped. He saw the ledge nearing him as he thrust his arms out and grabbed it.

"RRRGH!" he groaned as immediately Omid and Kenny grabbed his arm and pulled up.

Lee landed on the floor exhausted, but thankful he was alive. "Thank you guys for your help."

"Hey, we're a team. If you're dead, there wouldn't be anything we could do man," Omid chuckled.

"Stop being disrespectful Omid," Christa's eyes widened. "Anyways, we're glad you made it here safely. Now, let's go back to the house and get the boat, before the walker's come back."

"Damn straight," Kenny agreed. "Everyone, let's go!"

The group headed back to the house where they kept the boat as they looked at the corpses of walker's on the ground as well as killing any stray walker that would try to attack them. They made it back with relative ease, as they saw the gates wide open.

"Shit, did you guys forget to lock the gate?!" Kenny raged.

"No, we closed the gate shut," Omid replied.

"Oh no, the boat!"

Kenny rushed in while the others trailed along. What they saw in the shed surprised them greatly. There was nothing. The boat had been stolen. There was only a note on the ground which only Lee noticed now.

"Shit, shit, shiiiit!" Kenny yelled in frustration. "Our boat! Our hard work is all gone! Who the hell was it?!"

"I believe it was Vernon and his group," Lee shook his head in disgust as he picked up the note, reading it. "Yeah...it was that piece of shit Vernon..."

"Those damn invalid's?!" Kenny asked.

"Well, their actions contradicts what they did," Omid stated.

"He's right," Christa agreed. "They are just people who have been dealing with shitty situations for a long time. That is how they got the jump on us..."

"Man, fucking pieces of shits!" Kenny growled. "Once I get my hands on them, I will rip their fucking throats out!"

"Man, fuck em!" Lee agreed.

"That's right! It's sick, it really is," Kenny said. "They use their sympathy for goddamn sick folks and end up stabbing us in the back!"

Christa disagreed with Lee and Kenny's sentiment. "They didn't 'stab' us in the back! They did what anyone would do in this situation. They've been living with ghosts all this time."

"And it also says that Vernon feels really bad about this...and about leaving us and Clementine," Lee said. "So...it wasn't him."

"They still fucking played us! Now, since we don't have a boat, we don't have plan anymore! What the hell do we do after we get back Clementine?" Kenny asked.

"We get the hell out of cities," Christa replied. "I'm done in cities."

"I agree," Omid said.

"Hey pretty boy, you agree with everything your girlfriend says!" Kenny raised his voice. "Why don't you start offering your opinions for once and stop being afraid to speak out!"

"Hey, fuck off old man!" Christa snarled. "You don't talk to Omid like that!"

The two began quarreling as their voices gradually became louder.

"Guys, we have to keep our voice down!" Lee told them. "We're going to draw the attention of-"

"RGHNNNGHH!" came the growls of walkers as masses of them swarmed the fence, bringing the whole fence down.

"Shit, in the house, now!" Lee ordered as he opened the door, motioning everyone to enter. Once everyone had entered, he slammed the door and locked it. He soon took a deep breath. "What the hell do we do now? Walkers are here..."

"We stay here...it's a stable house. I'm sure it won't break," Christa reassured.

Instantly after she said that, a window cracked open as a piece of a wall broke apart, and the walkers flooded in.

"Stable, huh?" Lee scoffed.

"Watch it."

"New plan, everyone head upstairs!" Kenny ordered.

Omid, Christa and Kenny rushed upstairs, but Lee couldn't help but to stare at a walker who looked like Brie. Lee looked at her with pity. She was a good woman. She did not have to die like this. Lee readied a butcher knife and lodged it right on her brain, killing her instantly. He headed upstairs to see Omid and Christa with guns, ready to fire.

"Help me with this furniture!" Kenny said. "Lee! Help me push it, so we can block of those damn walkers!"

Lee rushed to Kenny's aid as they painfully moved the desk to the stairs and blocked the way, making it hard for the walkers to get across.

"We must not get trapped, and here, we will make a stand," Lee said. "We clear out the walkers, and we'll find a way. How many bullets do you guys have? I have five and two."

"Three," Omid said.

"Four."

"Six."

"You all know where to aim...let us do this," Lee nodded as they waited for the walkers to show their faces.

Soon, the walkers began coming up the stairs as they trained their guns on them and began firing.

"Woah guys, three people shot the same walker," Omid noticed. "We need to save bullets. How are we going to do this?"

"Here, Kenny, Omid, take my gun. I will try to find a way to get outta here."

"Hurry," Kenny urged.

Lee scoured around, but couldn't find anything. When he looked at the top, he saw a rope he could pull that would lead them to the attic. "Found it! Watch out everyone!"

Lee brought it down with his strength as the ladder lowered with a bang.

"Go!"

Starting with Christa, they rushed up the ladder to the top. Once everyone had made it, Lee raised the trapdoor effectively distancing themselves from the walkers.

"Things could have gone better, but we're alive," Kenny sighed. "So after we find Clementine, can we still catch up to those thieves?"

"That will be hard to do...we have to try to get out of here," Omid replied as he checked a window. Unfortunately, he found some problems. "Shit, the window has no latches and it is a thirty feet straight drop, but I think I may know someone who can help us."

They stared at Omid as he slid over to a statue.

"Omid, what are you doing?"

"Look at him...he has a resourceful air around him," he chuckled. "Dixon Kent the third...industri-"

"OMID!" Christa warned.

"Christa...I'm just trying to lighten the mood here, okay?"

"We need SOLUTIONS! Not stupid jokes!" Christa spat, staring at Omid, but realized how harsh she sounded. "Sorry..."

"It's okay Christa...I understand how you're feeling," Omid replied. "Hmmmmmm..."

While they silently thought, there was crackle from the walkie talkie as Clementine's voice sounded through the radio. "Lee! I'm okay...I'm okay! I'm at where my parents were and...oh no!"

The walkie talkie shut off.

"Wait, what did she mean?" Christa asked.

"Thank goodness you are okay," Lee said, relief flooding it, until it disappeared just as quick. "She's where her parents were at...the hotel! He hasn't moved her!"

"Yet." Kenny said.

"Yeah...yet," Christa agreed.

"Come on Ken, be optimistic man," Lee replied.

"Optimistic? Open your eyes Lee! We're trapped here with no way out and thousands of walkers down there and you want me to be optimistic? What if he moves Clementine? Then, what are we going to do?"

"He won't move Clementine! We will get to her and we will find her!"

"Look, we will try our best to find her, but if things get too hazy and it'll risk all of us, it's just better to get out of here!"

"How dare you say that?! We will find her and she will be alright!"

"Um, guys, now isn't the time to be arguing," Omid helpfully added.

"You will listen to me!" Kenny growled, getting in Lee's face. "We will find Clementine, but if things get too hectic, we have to get outta here!"

Lee growled in rage and picked up the statue's head and prepared to throw. Kenny's eyes widened as he shielded his face as Lee threw it hard on the wall. It left a huge dent with some pieces that broke out. They were silent for the longest time.

"Dude, you busted the man's face up," Omid replied.

"Shut up sweetie. Look! It left a mean one," Christa examined the wall. "It looks like it is corroded."

Lee grabbed a pole and slammed it into the wall as more pieces fell off.

"Yea-heah," Kenny grinned widely. "Now this is what I'm talking about. We can bust out of here if we all pitch in and bust down that wall. We take shifts and bring it down. Sound good?"

"Yeah, it does," Lee nodded as Omid and Christa agreed. "Look Kenny...I'm sorry for getting mad at you. It's just that Clementine's my family now and it..."

"Say no more Lee," Kenny gently reassured. "I didn't mean what I said. Of course we will find Clementine. Now is too late to turn back. Give me that pole, let me start my shift. I don't want to continue being a useless asshole."

"Appreciate it."

Kenny took the pole and began making dents in the wall as Lee, Christa, and Omid sat on a couch and began relaxing. While they were relaxing, they struck up a conversation.

"So...you and Kenny must have known each other for a long time," Omid said. "How long was it? And by the way, Ben dying is just crazy...I never expected it to...I mean..."

"Kenny blew up on him back at Crawford," Christa whispered. "I've never seen him that. I mean, I understand that he got his wife and child killed and that is fucked up beyond many levels, but..."

"Woah, what happened?"

"Later Omid, later..."

Soon, they fell into silence as they heard Kenny slamming the wall. Soon, he became exhausted as he came over with the pole and handed it to Omid. "You're next kid. I'm outta gas."

"You want me to go do it first?" Lee asked.

"Nah man, I got this."

Omid rose up and left to do his part of the work, as Kenny sat down next to Christa.

"You made any progress with that wall Kenny?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, if we're lucky, Omid should be able to break it. If not, your turn will do the trick. Hell...we're lucky the wall is as corroded as it is, or else it would have been near impossible. Now..." Kenny's eyes wandered to a box that contained a bottle of whiskey. His eyes lit up and took it. "Hey, there's still some left! Y'all want a drink too?"

"I'm down." Lee agreed.

Christa stood silent for now, just staring at the whiskey. Kenny gulped down the whiskey as he handed it to Lee. Lee also took a few sips and handed it over to Christa. She just stared at it guilty as suddenly, she brought the whole bottle to her face and gulped every ounce of the whiskey down. Kenny's eyes widened as he forlornly looked at the empty whiskey and gave a sigh.

Lee couldn't help but to chuckle.

 _SMASH!_

"Guys, I think I got it done!" Omid whooped. "It leads to another apartment. Come on in!"

"Why hello there," Kenny grinned as he looked at the huge hole.

Soon, they all crawled under the hole and found themselves in the bedroom of the next door. The first thing that caught all their eye was a couple on the bed, dead. They head a hole in their head, holding a gun, and their hands together.

"Gosh," Christa sighed, lightly sobbing, looking away.

Lee stared at the dead body. "That was smart...new there was no way out, so they went together."

"Don't you dare say that," he heard Kenny's growl as he pointed at Lee. "Don't say that again, ever. You stick out as long as you can. You do whatever you have to...I could have done more, but I didn't."

"You've done all you could," Lee reassured.

"No Lee...I haven't," Kenny shook his head. "I could have been a better father...a better husband...a better guardian...a better friend. Now, let's find a way outta here and get that girl. Who's with me?"

Kenny put his hand in the middle.

"I've been here for you and you've been here for me. You're a really good friend of mine. Of course we're finding Clementine, but know that we'll stick together as long as we can, okay?" Lee asked.

Kenny smiled. "Thank you Lee."

"We're in," Christa spoke for Omid. "We're a team now. Let's get that girl and let's get out of here, as a team. No point in arguing over where to go. We should prioritize on finding the girl."

All their hands met in the middle, as they soon pulled away.

Lee walked over to a window and opened it. Thankfully, it had a latch, and there was a balcony like ledge that allowed them to jump on to the roof of another building. "Guys, over here. We can place our feet on the ledge and jump. Let's do it."

Lee went first as the ledge supported his weight. It only gave a little creak as Lee successfully made it to the other side. Christa also easily jumped from the ledge, though it had made a much more louder creak. Next was Omid, but no one saw the support system unhinge and almost come off.

"Guess it's my turn now," Kenny sighed. He stood on the ledge as it creaked.

Lee's eyes widened. "Kenny, jump!"

Just as Kenny jumped, the ledge gave way and toppled to the floor.

"No!"

Kenny landed on his feet, grunting, as a loud crash was heard.

"Kenny, are you alright bud?" Omid called out.

"I'm just dandy, but I'll need help!" came his voice.

Lee sighed in relief as he turned to Christa and Omid. "Wait here. I'm going to help Kenny."

Before they could protest, Lee rushed down and went over to Kenny who was still catching his breath.

"Man, you okay?"

"For now...I will be," he wheezed. "Though I think that noise drew some..."

They heard growling as they were approached by some walkers.

"Hey, that's not too bad. We can take them down," Kenny smirked.

Right after he said that, more began showing up, and they knew it was a losing match.

"Shit, me and my big mouth..."

Lee helped Kenny up as they rushed to the ladder that would take them back to the roof.

"Lee, hurry, go first!" Kenny growled as the walkers drew dangerously near.

Lee tried to go as fast as possible, but Kenny knew that if he waited for Lee, they would grab him and bite him. "Shit, it's too dangerous for me! Lee, I'll find another way out!"

Kenny backed out from the ladder and rushed in the other direction.

"Shit Kenny! Kenny!"

Lee hurried up the ladder and peered over the roof. He heard Kenny's voice, but couldn't see him.

"Back! Back you sons of bitches!" they heard Kenny growl as the sound of walkers overpowered him. They faintly heard some screaming.

"No...no...no..." Lee put his hand over his head. "Kenny...no..."

"Dude, dude, what happened?!" Omid asked, rushing over to him.

"Kenny...I...he didn't make it!" Lee growled in agony... "No...how?"

"Oh my goodness..."

The three fell into silence.

"This isn't true...I'm sure Kenny made it to safety," Christa tried to reassure.

They peered over the ledge to see tons of walkers roaming around. It would be a miracle if anyone could survive a horde of that magnitude.

"He was a good f-friend," Lee said. "But we have to continue on...the Marsh House is right over there."

Silently, they traversed the rooftop as they drew closer and closer. They were soon stopped by a building that only had a skinny ledge that brought them from the building to another, near the Marsh House.

"This looks very thin..." Omid pointed out. "I don't think we three should go there...it might be dangerous."

"It is dangerous...let me go first," Lee said. "No questions. If it's safe, you guys can follow...but if I don't make it..."

"Lee, do not say that. You will make it. Don't you even go down that road," Christa warned. "If you start losing hope, remember Clementine. She thinks the world of you and I know you'd do anything to bring her back...right?"

Lee had a really hard stare. "Right...I can't fail for her..."

"We'll be right behind you. Go and save her..."

"Thank you."

Lee grabbed the ledge as he slowly began walking accross.

"Just look forward and not down, and you will get there safely. I believe in you."

"Hey, me too," Omid chipped in.

Lee chuckled as he reached halfway. Unfortunately, he was too heavy, or the ledge was too light as the beginning section completely tore down, nailing a walker in the head. Lee held on to the edge that was barely hanging on.

"Shit!" he was wide eyed.

"You're fine, you're fine!" Christa reassured.

"I think I'll have to go alone for this one. Can't risk any of your lives for this...promise me you'll be near here. If that happens, Clementine and I will meet up with you...please," Lee pleaded.

"Of course...take your time and save the girl...okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

"We'll see you soon. Good luck."

"Thank you."

Lee readied his butcher knife as he stared at the Marsh House. He scowled as he thought about Clementine and the damn stranger that kidnapped her. Lee's face was apathetic, wearing a mask of indifference. He didn't give a damn. No horde would stop him from reaching his sweet girl. Nothing.

Lee walked forward, never wavering as he began slicing the walkers that got close to him. He showed only determination and passion to get Clementine back. He had been with her since the beginning, and he would be with her until the end. The more walkers he killed, the more their guts and blood coated him. Lee didn't care about that, but as he became more and more covered, the walkers began giving less interest to him. Soon, they ignored him completely.

"What the-?"

Lee stood, doing nothing when a walker approached him. Lee tensed, and had his hand on the knife just in case, but the walker just brushed past him, giving no care.

"Huh..." Lee realized something. "If I'm...covered in their guts and blood, and act like them, they won't notice me...that's very interesting, and...useful."

Slowly, he made his way toward the marsh house with ease. He smirked. He was that much closer to finding Clementine. The hotel seemed to be in okay condition...well compared to what he thought it would look like after months of no maintenance. The blue carpet had little stains, but it didn't seem worn down like some buildings he saw. Lee roamed around the hotel, as he soon came upon a door that was slightly open. Lee gave a deep breath as he opened the door slowly and scanned the area. There was nothing...

He entered and examined the area. There were furniture, a TV, a neat looking bed as well as many others. What drew his attention were two doors. Now, that would not be out of the ordinary, but there was a rope tied from that one door knob to another. He came to examine the door when he heard a gun click.

He tensed and looked behind him to see a man, who seemed to be in his thirties or forties, pointing a gun at him. He had short brown hair with brownish eyes.

"You're the man on the radio," Lee gasped.

He smirked, nodding slightly. "I got us adjoining rooms..."

"...Hello," Lee greeted.

The stranger looked taken aback. "Oh um...not the kind of reaction I was expecting...anyways, Clementine is safe...You look horrible...did you get bitten?"

When Lee provided no answer, the stranger spoke. "Go over there...and put your things down."

Lee saw the gun pointed at him and knew he had no choice. Lee grabbed his walkie talkie and put it on the counter. "This is all I have."

"You're lying..."

"Search me then," Lee stared at him.

"I'd rather not..."

Suddenly, they heard the voice of Clementine out there. "Let me out! Who's there?"

Lee's eyes widened as he was about to call Clementine's name, but thought better. He knew that he could get shot, so he just kept silence, shaking his head.

"Good," the stranger nodded, "It's nothing sweetie. Be quiet please."

After Clementine didn't speak, the stranger had Lee sit down on the chair. The stranger pointed the gun at him, but then drew it down. "Do you know who I am?"

Lee stared at him like he was stupid. "No..."

"Of course you don't...people like you wouldn't...allow me to talk about myself...did you happen to run across a station wagon a few weeks back filled with essentials...?"

Lee's eyes widened. "That was yours...I didn't steal from you...my group may have, but I knew it was wrong...I didn't agree with them."

"That's good of you..." the stranger replied. "That's what Clementine told me...I took my son Adam out to hunt with a shotgun, even though my wife said that he was too young. I thought that he should grow up and the only way would be to do these things...Well, things don't always turn out as planned and there was an accident. When I came back without my son, my wife was really mad at me. She wouldn't speak to me and when she did, she would yell at me. Then, this disaster strikes and we pull over at some place to take care of some business and we get back, our stuff is all gone...everything."

Lee couldn't help but to feel some sympathy to him, even though he had Clementine.

"The longer we lasted without it, my wife began more distant to me and soon, she took my daughter and ran away...away from me. She kept calling me a monster and that they'd survive without me. I went on without life, and a day after, I found them...as one of them. I vowed revenge and that's when I began my search for you group...to have revenge. But...Clementine told me about you and what situation she was in. The more I listened, the more angrier I became...you put her through a lot of shit! You put her in a dairy full of sick people! You are a murderer, a thief, and a liar! And I will hurt you so bad. I will kill that little girl myself before I let her go with you, because I know what will happen."

The stranger once more pointed the gun at him. All the sympathy went away for Lee as his veins turned to ice, hating the man with a passion.

"I bet you don't know how old she is..." the stranger said.

"She's 8," Lee firmly said.

"Wrong! She's nine! her birthday was six days ago..."

Lee stood silent, feeling very bad. _I'm sorry Clementine. I was selfish and...I should've thought about you more. I swear, if we get out, I'll raise you right...like a real daughter._

"I know how to be a true father and I will raise her the right way. She won't be exposed to any of the things she has been exposed to and she will be safe."

"Over my dead body," Lee scowled.

"Very soon, Lee," the stranger laughed as he looked at a bag on the floor. "Oh honey, I believe it's going to work out. You'll like Clementine a lot. Soon, we'll have a new family. She isn't like Lizzy, but you'll love her."

Lee's eyes widened as he saw Clementine exit her room silently. Her eyes brightened when she saw Lee. Lee smiled inwardly, but had a straight face. His eyes went over to a glass next to the walkie talkie as Clementine grabbed it. She slowly approached the stranger.

"Clementine wouldn't even hurt a fly," the stranger smiled.

Immediately after he said that, Clementine smashed the glass over the stranger's head as he yelled in pain. Lee immediately got into action. He took out his butcher knife and kicked the stranger down, but he reacted quickly. He grabbed his gun as Lee grabbed it also. They fought for the gun. Adrenaline pumped throughout Lee as with his strength, kicked him to the bedpost. The stranger groaned as he dropped his gun. He ran for his gun, when Lee pushed him against the wall and tried to choke him. The two fought for dominance as Lee planted a punch right on his chest, making him gasp for air. Lee tightened his grip on the stranger.

"Clementine is my baby girl," Lee growled. "I could've treated her better and I will. She will be away from sick people like you. You shall never hurt anyone again! You hear me! Never!"

With pure rage, Lee tightened his grip as the stranger's eye lolled backwards, saliva dripping from his mouth. Lee didn't know how much force he was using against the stranger. Soon, he went slack and fell across the wall, dead.

Lee took deep breaths as he drew back. He picked up the gun and thought of shooting him.

"A monster like you...deserves to come back. Your true colors would show once you turn. You're a monster like all the walkers out there...you have no sense of humanity..."

Lee turned away and looked at Clementine. "We'll have to get out of here soon, sweet pea."

Clementine raced towards Lee and embraced him hard. Lee returned the hug, a few tears coming out of his face. Clementine was so broken-hearted and filled with angst. "I'm so sorry Lee for this. I'm very sorry...I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay sweet pea, it's going to be all right," Lee said. "I'm just glad you are safe."

They shared that moment together as they soon drew away. Lee gave Clementine a smile. He found her and didn't even get bitten in the process...he wanted to dance for joy, but knew that there was no time for that.

"Lee, you smell."

Lee laughed. "That I do sweet pea. And I think I know how to get us out of here, but...did he hurt you?"

"No...not really," she stared at the ground. "I'm so so-"

"Clem, its okay...I forgive you. I'm sorry too. I could've been a better person to you...first thing we do once we're out of here, we're going to get to know each other more, alright? We should build our trust and bond together."

"I trust you...I'll follow you wherever. You know what's best for me."

Lee smiled. "I love you sweet pea."

"I love you too."

"Now, we have to hurry."

Lee opened the door and saw a walker lurking at the doorstep. Clementine put her hand over her mouth as Lee gestured her to stay quiet. The walker stared at Lee, then immediately turned his attention to Clementine. Lee kicked the walker down and shot him in the end.

Clem gasped as the walker fell dead. "He ig-ignored you!"

"Yep. I have walker guts smeared all over me...if you do that and you act like them, then they won't notice you."

"Oh that's cool!"

Lee gave her a look.

"And gross..." she crinkled her nose.

Lee chuckled. "Not even five minutes since I found you and you made me laugh twice."'

Clementine gave a smile, but cringed, knowing what had to happen next.

Lee ripped the walker as his entrails and blood poured to the ground. Clementine put her hand over mouth retching as scooped up some blood.

"No!" Clementine closed her eyes.

"Clem, honey...we have to do this, so we can find Christa and Omid. It's not safe here..."

"O-okay...just get over with it, please."

Lee smiled. "It may be gross, but this is saving your life."

Lee rubbed the guts all over Clementine as she retched and shivered, but thankfully, she didn't puke. Soon, Lee was done coating her with it.

"All done."

"Blech! Disgusting! But...I know this will help us get out. I saw it with my eyes."

"Good girl," Lee smiled. "You're becoming more and more mature. Remember, stay behind me and act like them. Go slowly, don't look around and don't panic. Understand?""

"Yeah," she nodded as Lee looked her over.

"Where's your hat?" Lee asked.

"I dunno...lost probably. My favorite hat..." she sighed.

Lee smiled and reached over his back pocket and took out her hat, putting it over Clementine.

"You found it!" she hugged Lee with joy. "Oh thank you!"

"I found it outside the house and I knew it was your favorite, so I knew I had to give it back. Are you ready to go?"

Clementine nodded as they exited the hotel, just as the stranger's corpse came to life as a walker. There were tons of walkers roaming the street.

"That's a lot..."

"Remember what I said, sweet pea."

"Yeah."

Lee held Clementine close to him as they wandered the street. Clementine was scared out of her mind, but she trusted Lee. Lee was the only one who she would trust with all her heart. Clementine had been overjoyed when Lee found her and even attempting to find her erased all her doubts about Lee. Clementine was amazed as most of the walkers they went past, ignored them. Some stared at them, but lost interest quickly.

Clementine froze as she couldn't help but to stare at two figures. She squinted, but then gasped. No...no...it couldn't be.

Lee also looked to where she was staring and found that it was Clem's parents.

"I'm so sorry Clem..." Lee softly gasped.

Some walkers noticed them stopping and gained interest.

"We have to keep moving Clem."

Clem's mouth quivered, but she saw some walkers coming to them. Gulping down all her pain, she looked away and trudged on. She would not put Lee's life and her life at danger. She already did that once.

Clem buried her head into Lee, softly sobbing as Lee held her and trudged out of the horde. They walked for a while out of the city, as Lee scanned a hilly area with no signs of walkers.

"Once we get there, we can sleep and talk tomorrow...it's getting late. Okay Clem? Clem?"

He found her close to him, having fallen asleep with her tears.

"Poor girl," Lee sighed and picked up her gently, bringing her to him. "Sleep. I'll get us out of here."

Lee trudged on in sadness and in silence for a while. He hoped to find Christa and Omid soon. His mind flashed back to where it all began. How did he end up here? What were the choices he had to make to come here? In the end, he was proud of most of his group. They had gotten him to where he should be, but at the same time, he knew that groups were not always safe and they had to learn to rely on themselves.

Lee made a vow to treat Clementine like his actual daughter and make sure that she didn't die. He would love her with unconditional love and teach her how to survive this world. He wouldn't let a girl like her be taken away...even if this world was cruel.

Lee walked on for a few miles on top of a hill. He set Clementine down on the ground as she continued to softly snore. He scanned the area, making sure that it was safe as he lay down also. He brought Clementine close to him and found himself drifting away. He had done it...he had rescued Clementine...

He had to smile as he drifted off into sleep.

...

"Lee...Lee...get up!"

Lee's eyelids fluttered open as he saw Clementine standing over him.

"You're awake!"

Lee groaned and got up, as Clementine and Lee shared a hug. The rising sun met their eye.

"Good morning sweet pea."

"Good morning Lee."

"Why'd you wake me up Clem?"

"My mother...and father...they're gone," Clementine said sadly, tears falling. "You were right, but I didn't believe you and...I almost..."

She began sobbing, profusely apologizing once more for all her mistakes.

"Maybe you should just leave me here and go!"

Lee immediately put his fingers on her lip. "Shh...none of that now. It isn't your fault. If I was missing my parents when I was your age, I would've done the same thing, and maybe have gotten killed, so don't you dare say that, okay?"

Lee wiped the tears off of her face. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. I'll try my best to...no I will take care of you like my own daughter, okay? I will make sure you are safe and don't get hurt."

"Th-thank you," she sniffed. "At least I have you. I feel very safe when I'm with you."

"Me too Clem, me too."

Lee looked over at the horizon when something caught his eye. "Hey, do you see that?"

"See what?"

Her eyes trailed to two figures who were walking side by side.

"Is that..."

"Christ and Omid," Lee finished. "We should go to them...they made it alive. You ready Clem?"

"Yeah! I want to meet them!" she jumped up. "Let's goo!"

"Easy there sweet pea, easy," Lee chuckled.

Hand in hand, the two walked over to the two figures who were walking.


	2. A New Life?

**A/N: Okay, hope you are enjoying the story so far. If I only wrote this story by what I've played for Season 2, this book won't be that long. I will add more than what the game gives us, so there MAY be some OC's that may come in and also some events might change. I will try to follow the plot of the game, but there may be more, I may remove some, or just stick with it. That's all. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: A New Life?**

Lee and Clementine walked and found Christa and Omid walking down a hill.

"Christa! Omid!" Clementine called out and rushed forward, Lee following right after her.

The two turned to Clementine and Lee with wide eyes. "Holy hell...you made it...both of you!"

"We did, Christa," Lee smiled as Clementine gave her a big hug.

Lee grasped Omid's hand and shook it.

"I knew I had faith in you," Omid smiled. "I knew you could do it! We managed to stay up the rooftops and navigate our way out of the hellhole. We skirted around the edges to search for you, but it was getting dark, so we came out of the city and managed to find somewhere comfortable to sleep."

"Omid, that was not comfortable at all," Christa crossed her arms.

"Hey, at least we had someplace safe to sleep...man, you both smell and look like...shit."

Clementine gasped. "You said a swear. You shouldn't swear. That's very bad."

"Oh, I'm sorry Clem..." Omid sheepishly rubbed his head.

Christa shook her head. "Lucky for you, we have some extra clothes we raided just in case you guys made it out alive, and you guys did. I believe there's a pit-stop...Gil's pit-stop a few miles from here. You guys can change into something more comfortable there."

"Sounds like a plan, let's get moving," Lee smiled as they began their trek as a group.

"Lee?" Clementine asked.

"Yes hon."

"Where are the others? Ben, Kenny, Molly...why aren't they with you?"

Lee's face fell, as did Christa's and Omid.

"Clem...they...Molly wanted to leave alone. She thought it was for the best, so she went off. As for Kenny and Ben...I'm..." Lee hesitantly said as Clementine got on.

"...Oh," she sadly said. "I'm sorry...it's my fault."

"Clem, honey, don't say that," Christa put her arm on her shoulder, "It was not your fault. Not if this is your fault."

"You're lying...if I hadn't run off like that...none of this would've happened..."

"All things...everything in this world are meant to happen. Everything happens for a purpose...none of this your fault, Clem," Lee told her. "Don't beat yourself over it. Promise me Clementine. You must not let yourself be filled with sorrow that drags you down. Especially in a world like this...it isn't safe."

"I promise Lee," she sighed.

Lee pat Clementine's head.

"You know, this reminds me of the time when I first met you as a group," Christa fondly smiled. "I didn't want any trouble, but that Omid had to make sure you guys were okay. I was hesitant at first, when I saw you take care of Clementine. I thought that there was no way you can be bad if you were taking care of a child like her...so we gave you guys. I'm not regretting that at all. You've treated Clementine with so much love and care...you'd make a good father."

"I appreciate it," Lee replied. "I could have tried much harder to gain her trust and show love. There are many more things I could've done for her...but I didn't. That's why I made a promise to not fall into the same path like last time. She will survive, and she will grow up to be a beautiful woman. Nothing...I won't let anything get to her."

"That is noble Lee, but you shouldn't make that promise...it is impossible to stop death. It may come anytime and with this walker situation, just a bite can do it, so we must be very careful."

"I understand Christa, I do."

"Good...because now, we have something to tell you two," Christa smiled. "Oh, there's the pit stop. We should scout it to make sure it is safe."

They lay low and peeked towards the pit stop.

"So, what we wanted to tell you guys was that I'm pregnant," Christa gently said.

Clem gasped holding her hand to her mouth.

"Con-congratulations," Lee told her genuinely, "Really...I'm so happy for you both."

Christa blushed as Omid gave a huge grin. "We're naming the kid Omid...after me of course."

"Are you kidding me right now, man?" Lee asked.

"Hey, don't judge me!"

Christa chuckled, shaking her head. "I agree with Lee. One Omid is enough...Clementine, a little help?"

Clementine stared at them as they began walking closer to the restrooms. "What if it's a girl?"

"Ooh, a great question," Lee nodded as Clementine couldn't help but to smile.

"Then we name her Christa," Omid shrugged.

"Maybe you should leave the name deciding to Christa," Lee interjected.

"Yeah, that'd be the best. Thank you for agreeing with me. I am not naming her Christa if she's a girl...I'm Christa, so it would be confusing."

"Then we can name her Genevive, I don't care," Omid sighed.

"How can you not care? This is our child we are talking about!"

"I care about our little Omid," Omid gave a smirk as she pointed to Christa's stomach.

"Keep talking and you'll be sleeping out in the rain."

"That's cruel, you know that?" Lee scoffed.

"Yeap, that's the worst," Omid agreed. "That reminds me of Barstow...Vegas weekend...that brings so much memories."

Christa nodded and smiled at Omid as she entered a bathroom.

"Clem, why don't you cleaned in the woman's room?" Omid asked, handing her a blue jacket as well as a white skirt.

"Yes, go ahead Clem. I'll stand guard out here until you come out. Think you can do that?" Lee asked.

"Thank you Lee...thank you Omid," Clementine nodded as she entered the bathroom. "Hope the sink works in there."

"Doubt it, but it's worth a try." Lee told her as he wait out the door, with a gun in his hand as Omid went to the final open stall.

Inside the bathroom, Clementine saw three stall doors closed. The white tiles were getting cracked and rusty. The whole condition of the place looked very poor.

"I better check to see that it will be safe in here first...which means checking the stalls...eugh," she said to herself.

She opened the first stall, only to find the toilet seat cracked with brown things all over it.

"Gross!" she grimaced and immediately closed the door.

She shivered as she let out a breath. She checked the second stall to find a bloodied, deformed teddy bear in it.

"What in the world?" She immediately closed the second stall, and checked the final door.

The third stall was the cleanest, compared to the first two, with nothing out of the ordinary. Clementine gave a sigh of relief.

"Guess it's safe to get cleaned up then."

She put her backpack on the sink and opened her backpack, taking out her water bottle.

"Hm, maybe I should get changed first into something more clean...it smells like the dead."

She went into an empty stall, and changed her clothes, throwing away her old clothes. She exited the stall, changed and looked in the mirror. She saw dirt and grime cover her face as she winced.

"Man, do I look terrible."

She tried the sink and found no water running.

"Of course...it would have been to easy."

She soaked her handkerchief with water as she wiped her face clean. She stared at the mirror once more and smiled.

"Hey, hey, what the hell are you doing, lady?!" came Lee's voice.

"Lee!" Clementine gasped as she knocked her water bottle down.

She rushed out of the room and saw an African American woman wrestle with Lee for a gun.

"Give me that gun, I need it! I need stuff!" she growled, trying to rip the gun from Lee's hand.

Soon, Omid and Christa also burst out of the restroom, with Christa wielding a shotgun.

"Let him go!" Clementine growled and kicked the woman right in the kneecap as she grunted.

"You stop or I will put a hole through your chest!" Christa warned as Omid ran to Lee's assistance.

"You won't fire that shotgun unless you want the bullets to spread to them also," the thief cackled, but soon, the sheer strength of Omid and Lee ripped her away from Lee's gun.

She went rabid, and Lee knew that she would hurt or kill them, so he drew back and punched her in the face. "Omid, out of the way, now!"

Lee slammed the butt of his pistol right on her cranium, effectively knocking her unconscious.

Lee began breathing hard as Clementine rushed over and attempted to hug him.

"No sweet pea, don't want to ruin your clothes," Lee shakily smiled. "I'm okay...I'm okay hon."

"What happened?" Christa asked.

"This woman approached me and said she needed help...was begging for food or water...when I told her we had enough only for us, she attempted to take my gun and do whatever she was going to do..."

"Well, you're smart for standing guard here...who knows what would've happened if you left Clementine unattended. She could have killed one of us."

"Thankfully, she didn't. I'm going to go get changed, alright? I'll be back out soon."

"Yeah, you go do that," Omid nodded. "After he gets changed, then I guess you can hug him."

"Oh, yeah." Clementine gave a smile. "Go into the stall to your left. That's the cleanest. The others are gross."

"Thank you Clementine." Lee chuckled as he headed into the bathroom to get changed.

First, he recovered and gathered all of Clementine's belongings.

"Looks like she forgot her stuff in here," Lee said. "I'll go give it to her, after I've changed."

Lee headed into the third stall and changed into something that was less dirty than what he was wearing. Dried walker blood and guts did not smell good and it was starting to stick to his skin, which he did not like at all.

After getting changed, he exited the bathroom stall with Clementine's stuff. He found all of them standing, waiting for him.

"I'm here," Lee replied as he handed Clementine her backpack. "Here, your backpack. Also, the water bottle rolled into the third stall. Sorry if I scared you for yelling."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Clementine smiled, "Thanks for taking care of me."

"Anytime hon."

"So...what's our plan? Where should head?" Omid asked.

"We talked about this Omid...Wellington is the best option right now," Christa replied.

"Right..."

"Wellington...Ohio?" Lee asked.

"That's the place," Christa nodded. "There is a safe camp we can head to. Another plus is that during the winter, it can get chilly. It will slow the walkers right down. Are you up for it, Lee?"

"Wellington sounds really nice," Lee admitted. "We're a group now. We will travel there together."

"Sounds like a plan," Omid grinned. "We can stock up on the way. We also can't constantly be walking, so we'll find places to crash for the night. Christa and I have some knowledge on survival, so we can sleep in forests also. We will head straight north and plan accordingly. Charlotte should be the first major city we reach by foot, so we can look there also. It will be a long trek, are you guys ready?"

"I know I'm ready," Christa replied.

"If we're not ready, we'll have to just stay here," Lee said. "But I don't want to stay here. Savannah is a lost cause...so I'm hopeful we'll find someplace that's safe for all of us, especially Clem. Clem, are you ready?"

"Uh huh, I'm ready," she smiled.

"Great...let's go then. Onwards fellow soldiers!"

"Omid, stop it."

"Oh, come on Christa..."

Clementine and Lee looked at each other and smiled.

At this moment, their trek to Wellington had officially began as they began walking.

* * *

 **16 months later**

It was night time and the four were in the woods, huddled by a small fire, plagued by the cold. Lee Everett, Omid, and Christa had not changed at all, but Clementine strikingly changed. She looked much more mature than she was a year and four months ago. Clementine had grown, and had lost that high pitched voice into something a little deeper, but feminine. Her hair was noticeably shorter as most of it was concealed with her signature hat. She wore purple shirt over a striped sweater as well as jeans.

Lee couldn't help but to feel very proud at how Clementine changed, both physically and mentally. She was much more intelligent, as Lee and the others taught her the skills to survive. She wasn't afraid now to stand up for herself and knew when she had to kill or not. Throughout their trek to Wellington, Clementine and Lee's bond skyrocketed, with both of them looking out for each other. Lee knew Clementine was old enough to make her decisions, and she had to learn, so Lee mostly let her do what she wanted, though there were times he had to stop her from getting out of control.

Lee raised Clementine well and instilled in her determination, trust, passion, and survival instincts to survive this cold hard world.

They truly had a father, daughter relationship, while Christa and Omid watched both of them in pride.

"It's very cold," Clementine shivered.

"It is hon, but in Wellington, it will be much more colder." Lee explained.

"Great, I love it."

"Sarcastic, aren't we?"

"So, you noticed."

Lee chuckled and sat next to Clem and pulled her in his arms as she drew close to him. That surprised Lee very much. He was told that as children grew older, some of them would start acting embarassed toward their parents...that some teenagers didn't like to hug their parents, tell them I love you, or do what Clem was doing now...not because they didn't love their parents, but because of the mindset of wanting to be alone.

Still, this pleasantly surprised Lee. Whenever they slept for the night, Clementine wanted to be next to Lee. She was the only one she truly trusted, and although Lee told her that she would have to learn to be independent, Clem replied with, "I can be independent. I don't necessarily have to sleep next to you, but I want to."

This touched Lee's heart and he didn't say anything else about that matter. After all, she was old enough to make her decisions.

"We'll need something else to keep the fire going," Christa told everyone. "Clem, try using your head. How would you keep this fire going with drizzle. This forest, as well as you have some options, with some being better than the others. How would you grow this fire?"

"I have a lighter," Clementine said and searched her pack.

"That's good...what would you burn?"

Clementine took out the items. One was a photo of Lee and another was a picture of Kenny, Duck, and Katjaa she had drawn back at the motel.

"Lee's picture...I'm not burning, even if my life was on the line," Clementine said and put it in her back pocket.

"Clementine, I appreciate, I really do," Lee smiled, "But you must learn that if your life depends on it and that's the only thing to keep a fire going, you'll have to let go. Remember, your survival is more important than any items you have."

"It's disrespectful, and I love this picture so much."

"I know hon," Lee replied, putting his hand under her chin, "But, if your life...your life depends on it, it won't be good at all to save the picture and hurt yourself. I also don't want you to burn that picture of Kenny you have, so here, use this."

Lee handed Clementine a sheet of crumpled up paper as Clem smiled.

"Thanks Lee."

"Anytime."

Christa and Omid simply smiled as she flicked the lighter on and lit the paper. It caught on fire as Clementine placed it on the fireplace. That kept the fire going, but it was much too low.'

"What's the problem and how can you fix it?" Omid asked.

"The fire is too low, so I'll need...a log."

"Smart girl," Christa beamed. "Now you're getting it."

Clementine searched the area and saw a couple fallen logs. She measured the size of the fire place, and brought the log that wasn't too big, but wasn't too small. She placed the log in the middle as it fueled the fire, rising up, licking up the drizzle that had fallen.

"Atta girl," Lee complimented.

Clementine felt very proud. "I-I did it."

"We knew you could," Christa smiled.

Suddenly, they heard rustling of trees as they all rose up. Instantly, they were surrounded by four men with guns.

"What are you guys doing?!" Christa growled.

"Shut up lady!" one growled as Lee shoved Clementine behind him, in order to avoid her from being seen. "Give us all your stuff and you can leave alive!"

"We...we need all this!" Omid said as he held on tightly to his pack.

 _BANG!_

A gunshot rang out as blood poured out of his chest. Omid had a look of horror as he fell to his knees, shocking Christa and the rest.

"Dude...dude...what the fuck?!" a bandit yelled.

"Sorry, it was just my trigger finger!"

"Ah, shut the hell up! Shut the fuck up!"

Christa snarled and lunged herself at the bandits. Clementine had tears coming out her eyes as she watched Omid's lifeless corpse. Clementine held on to Lee tightly and began crying.

"Ah, what's done is done," the bandit leader shook his head. "Kill the rest of them and steal their pack. They can't tell anyone. Kill them, now!"

"No!" Lee growled and smacked him right in the face, forcing him to the ground. "Christa, run!"

Lee began running into the forest with Clementine in tow. Two bandits began chasing them, while the others dealt with Christa, who ran the other direction.

"Clem, use your size to your advantage! Stick close to me and avoid the roots and trees!"

They gracefully dodged through branches, logs on the floor, but unfortunately, there was a rock that Clementine did not see.

"Lee!" she yelled as her foot got caught in it.

She fell to the ground in pain as the bandit grabbed her from behind.

"No! Clementine!"

"Leave me alone!" Clementine yelled and bit down on his finger.

Lee lunged himself at the other bandit that was chasing him and forced him to the ground. With one hand, Lee tried to wrestle the gun away from him, and with the other, he took out his butcher knife and slammed it right on his forehead, killing him.

Lee heard an agonizing yell as he saw the other bandits thumb fall to the floor, Clementine having bitten it off.

Clementine rushed to Lee as he grabbed her and ran, the bandit right in tow.

"I'll fucking kill all of you! I'll kill you!"

Lee looked back for a second when he heard Clementine yell.

"Walker!"

Lee turned back to see a walker lunge at him from the right. He instantly swerved left and ducked beside a tree. The bandit was not so lucky as he fell into the grasp of the walker who began feasting on his flesh. He gave a yell of agony.

The man was dead, but the walkers were the one coming for them now. Lee dodged most of them.

"Lee, I can run. It will be faster. Let me down."

Lee let Clem down as they raced towards the water's edge. Clementine did not see the ledge as she fell in the river, the rapids carrying her.

"LEE!" she shrieked.

"Clem!" Lee dove in right after her as the current rapidly carried them. "Do not panic! Clem, listen to me! Keep your head above the water and do not fail. Try to breathe in and out when you are above water. Avoid the obstacles and try to swim diagonally to the shoreline. Do not fight the current and as I've said...do not panic."

"I-I will!" she said as the current took them off to somewhere.

Lee and Clem did not know how far they the rapid was taking them. A huge drop cast them unto a lake, as the rapid began flowing gently now. Lee swam to Clementine to find her head above water, seemingly knocked out. Lee grabbed Clementine and once it was safe, stood up and deposited her to shore. Land...exactly what they needed. Lee stood up, shivering slightly and scanned the entire area. It was a beautiful, lush forest with a stream and many tall trees. Lee would have admired the scenery, but he had to get to safety, now. He was cold...and Clementine must have been colder.

Lee saw that there was a cliff off to the side that elevated. He saw some broken stairs that would lead up there, but he knew that Clementine would have to be okay, if they wanted to be boosted up. He did not want to wake her up if she was sleeping, and if she was knocked out, she'd wake up on her own.

Lee had a decision to make. He could camp down here until the morning and when Clem woke up, or find a way to hoist her up there without injuring her or waking up. Holding Clementine up, Lee made his way to the stairs and tried with no avail to place her on the steps safely.

Lee chuckled. "Looks like we'll have to be down here together Clementine until you wake up."

He made way underneath the steps and leaned on the cliff, holding Clementine. He couldn't help but to think about Christa and Omid. Lee shook his head as he recalled Omid's violent death.

"Damn it Omid...we could have saved you, we could have," Lee growled. "Christa...I am so sorry about what happened. Know that he's in a better place now...shit..."

"L-language."

"H-huh?"

He looked down to see Clementine coming to, rubbing her eyes.

"I said to watch your language."

"You sure did," Lee chuckled. "Sorry hon...you're awake. I'm so glad you're safe."

Clementine hugged Lee. "I was scared...but I trusted you, and I'm still alive."

"You're alive because you are a very tough girl," Lee said.

"Where do you think I got the toughness from?" Clementine asked. "From Kenny?"

"Ha, could have," Lee shrugged, "Clem, do you have strength to keep moving or do you want to rest for the night?"

"Keep moving...that's what you told me. Always keep moving, so it should apply here also."

"You're a smart girl, aren't you. Let's get up then. I found some stairs we can climb, but I'll have to boost you up."

Clementine was hoisted by Lee as she grabbed the edge of the stairs and made her way up.

"My turn," Lee sighed. "Hey Clem, mind giving me your hand to pull me up?"

"Do you want to see me with a dislocated arm?" Clementine asked.

"Gee, thanks for the support girl..."

"Hey..."

"I'm kidding Clem. Just pulling your leg," he chuckled.

"Well, you were about to pull me arm so..."

She was such a joy to be around. Lee felt very proud as he grabbed on to the stairs and also made his way up. They were me with fallen trees as well as some sharp, yellow arrows that were stuck to trees.

"Hm...looks like people were here before," Lee said, when he came upon a corpse with the arrow stuck to his brain. "Oh my goodness..."

Clementine went to next to him and put her hand over her mouth.

"We shouldn't stay here for too long Clem," Lee instructed as they continued moving forward into the clearing.

"There are a lot of arrows here, that's for sure," Clementine said.

"It's like hunters struck this place or something. We must be on our guards. Anything could happen while we are here...especially wild animal attacks which would be very bad for us. Hear for unusual noises, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem."

They continued walking cautiously, always scanning their surroundings when they heard a growl. They immediately froze up.

"You hear that?" Lee whispered.

"Yeah..."

The growl got a bit louder as Lee held on to his gun and aimed it at the sound. Out came a light brown dog who bared his teeth at them.

"Just a dog," Lee whispered.

"They don't eat humans, do they?"

"Normally they wouldn't, but who knows if they have been starving. Easy boy, easy. It's okay. We're not here to hurt you."

Lee approached the dog calmly as the dog's eyes slit up and he growled again.

Lee extended his hands out gently.

"He's gonna bite you!" Clementine warned.

"We have to be gentle," Lee told her.

The dog sniffed his hand and began licking it.

"See? Wanna have a try?"

Clementine stared at the dog and the slobber on Lee's hands.

"Um...no."

Lee smiled as he checked the dogs collar. "His name is Sam. Well, nice to meet you Sam."

Sam barked and began walking deeper into forest, wagging its tail.

"We should follow him," Lee told Clementine. "Dogs are really good at finding useful places, and sometimes even food."

"Noted."

The dog led to what seemed like an abandoned camp. There was a rusty, dead car lying there, as well as some boxes, chairs to sit in, a fireplace, a tent, and a trashcan.

"We should check for something useful," Lee told Clem. "I'll sit on this chair and play with Sam, and you can dig through the trash, okay?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me Clem. Dig through the trash..."

"That's insulting...and gross!"

"It is hon, it is, so go do it."

Clementine crossed her arms and gave Lee a level headed stare.

"Aw, lighten up Clem, I'm kidding," Lee chuckled, "I'll do it. It's fine."

"Nah, I got this." Clementine scavenged through the trash. "Great...now I'm digging through trash...what am I doing?"

She found a can of food that had not been opened. Her hands were shaking as she brought it out.

"You find anything?" Lee asked.

"Yeah I did...I found food! Oh thank you..."

"I knew you could do it," Lee smiled as he went over to with Sam. "Now, we have to find the tools to open the food. I'll go find something to open it with. You can sit on the chair and relax. Heck, you can even throw that disc to the dog. He will bring it right back you...or he should."

"It's okay Lee, I can continue."

"Hon, you also need your rest. Sit down and relax. We've been through a lot and many more will come, so I will need you on your A-game."

"Okay, Lee. Thank you."

"No problem at all," Lee smiled as he began searching the tent, as well as some scattered boxes. All he found was nothing of importance like photos or toys.

Lee looked to see Clem throw the disc as Sam raced after with great speeds and caught it right in the air, bringing the disc back.

"Woah, nice dog!" Clem grinned as Sam eagerly barked.

"Well, you know what they say...a dog is a man's...or in this case woman's best friend," Lee said to himself.

All of a sudden, Sam began growling and barking, his posture changing.

"Clem, what have you done?" Lee immediately asked, tensing up.

"I-I didn't do anything...just played catch with him."

Sam raced off into the nearby woods as Clem and Lee followed him. They followed the sound of barking as they saw Sam facing a tree, barking at it.

"What could he be barking at?" Clementine wondered.

"Guess we'll find out..." Lee cocked his gun and went to where Sam was, Clementine right behind him.

They went over to see a seemingly dead walker tied to a tree, with a pocket knife stuck to his shoulder.

"Guess he tried to cut himself loose," Lee sighed. "Or tried to cut off his arms, where he was bitten. That never works though...what a tragedy."

"We should get the pocket knife to open the can of food."

"No disagreement there," Lee agreed.

"Let me do it," Clem eagerly said as she reached out.

"Clem, no! You have to make sure...-!"

Suddenly, the walker burst to life, grabbing Clementine's arm as she yelled and dropped the can in shock and fear.


	3. In the Shed

**Thanks for the reviews guys, I appreciate it. And also, I will try my best to keep them in character. I apologize if one seems to go out of their way. I loved playing the Walking Dead, and I will try to add more emotions between the interactions of characters. Also, I will try to add descriptions, but dialogue will be prominent throughout this story. If you don't like dialogue after dialogue, this story may not be for you. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: In the Shed**

"Shit!" Lee growled as he immediately slashed the arm of the walker with his butcher knife as it came off, Clementine falling on her back with the dog barking.

Lee then smashed through the brain of the walker as he immediately stopped reaching out. The walker was dead...for good. Lee immediately rushed over to Clementine and made sure she was okay.

"Are you okay Clementine?" he asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah," she took deep breaths. "Th-thanks for saving me."

"What did you learn from all this?"

"Stay more aware of my surroundings and make sure the walker is dead...and not to just reach out like that."

Lee smiled and pulled Clementine in a hug. "That was really dangerous of you to do, but it's okay. You learn from your mistakes and never make the same mistake twice."

"Yeah..."

Once Clementine and Lee rose up, they went over to the walker and inspected the pocket knife still stuck to him. Lee reached in and pried it out. The pocket knife looked sharp enough to cut through that can Clementine had found.

"May I see that can you found?"

"Yeah Lee." Clem handed the can over to him as Lee wiped the blood stained blade against his jeans, doing his best to remove most of the stains as he stabbed it right on the edge of the can. He sliced it right open as edible food was found in it.

"Perfect," Lee smiled. "I'll eat last. Clementine, you should eat first. Open your hand."

"A-are you sure Lee? It feels...strange to eat in front of you and...Sam," Clementine thought.

"Don't be deterred by it," Lee gave a replied. "Reach out your hand and I'll pour some on it."

Clementine extended her hand as Lee dumped a bit of food on it as she began eating it.

"How is it?"

"Not bad actually," Clementine answered.

Sam whimpered and looked at the can of food he wished to also eat.

"Alright Sam, you can get your share," Lee sighed as he dumped some of the food on the ground. Sam eagerly went over to it and began greedily gulping it down.

"Why didn't you just hand feed him?" Clementine couldn't help but wonder.

"Remember how hungry this dog is...if I did, he might have bit my hand off, trying to get to the food. The food might have been also knocked to the floor and it might have been inedible. With dogs, you want to be very careful. A starving dog only cares about food. If we were its master, the dog might stay loyal to the end, but we're not," Lee explained.

Clementine nodded as Lee took a little food and ate it, giving the rest to Clementine, as she frowned. "No Lee. You barely ate. You eat it. You already gave me plenty."

"It's okay sweet pea, it's okay. Your safety is much more important to me. Now, open up your hand again."

Clementine looked really sorry, but she smiled at him in thanks as Lee gave her more food.

Sam whimpered once more, telling them that he was hungry.

"Can I give it to him?" Clementine asked.

"Of course you can hon. Just be careful."

"I will." Clementine took the can and tried to dump the can in front of Sam, but as her arm was just in reach, Sam lunged at Clementine and wrapped his teeth around her arm. Pain flared over it as she yelled in pain.

"Clem!"

Lee tried punching the dog in the face really hard as blood freely flowed down her left arm. With a hard punch, the dog was sent flying back. It snarled and lunged, but Clementine extended her leg and kicked the dog, sending him flying backwards.

Lee didn't care about the dog's whimpering or the food that fell all over the floor. He immediately checked up on Clementine.

"Hon, hon, Clem, are you okay?" Lee asked.

She winced in pain, clutching her arms tightly to stop the blood. "I...I'm okay.."

Lee took her arm and began examining it, making sure to avoid touching her wound. He didn't want to aggravate it or make it worse.

"What did I do wrong...I'm sorry Lee...all I do is mess up," she sniffed.

"Don't say that Clem...that was not your fault at all. I guess he was hungrier than usual and that food he ate just made it go even crazier," Lee concluded. "This is not your fault. Do you want me to carry you? We have to find safety."

"N-no...it's okay. I can do it. I can walk."

"Tell me if are tired, okay? Don't overdo or stress yourself."

"I will Lee," Clementine smiled as she got on her feet, wincing. "I-hear the dog whimpering in pain...let's go check it out."

Lee nodded as they headed over to the noise to see the dog impaled by two spikes, as it was twitching in pain, whimpering.

"Oh...poor Sam," Clementine breathed out sadly. "I'm so sorry Sam."

It looked at them with its eyes, as if saying that it was sorry.

Clementine couldn't help but to tear up slightly as she looked at the bleeding dog.

"He's in pain. We have to end it for him..." Lee replied, putting his hand on Clementine's shoulder.

Clementine closed her eyes. "I can't look...Lee, I can't."

"I'm not asking you to do that..." Lee told her, taking out his pocket knife. "One quick slice to the neck should put him out of his misery..."

"Will he join his owners?"

"I'm sure he will Clem, I'm sure he will."

Clementine turned away, closing her eyes as Lee approached the dog with sad eyes.

"It'll be over quick Sam," Lee pet the dying dog as he swiftly sliced his throat.

With a last whimper, the dog lay motionless, dead.

Lee turned back to look at Clementine who was shaking her head.

"It's over Clementine. He left in peace," Lee told her. "We have to get out of here. We have to find safety."

"Yeah...we have to. I have to be strong."

Pulling Clementine towards him, he headed further deep in to the forest. Lee grew worried when he saw Clementine looking more tired, the more they walked. Her posture was drooped as blood was still slowly flowing out of her arm.

"Clem, hon, are you okay? Should I carry you?"

This time, she did not even answer him as Lee decided that she was suffering too much. Lee immediately held Clementine and quickened his pace, to get to safety. He looked around to see some walkers emerge from trees. Lee maneuvered over most of them, but since they were spread out, they were under threat of being surrounded, and since he was holding Clementine, he was slowed down a bit.

Clementine still could process what was going on and she knew that she was slowing Lee down. Clementine closed her eyes and knew what to do. "L-L-Lee?"

"Shhhh, it's okay Clem. Everything is going to be all right. We are going to get to safety, you hear me?"

"Lea-leave me and g-go...I'm proving to be a burden. Let me down here...find safety," Clementine breathed out.

"Don't you even think about that," Lee warned. "I am not leaving you. We will make it through this alive, or I'll die here with you! I will not lose you again, you hear me?"

Clementine heard the fire in Lee's voice and immediately shut her mouth, closing her eyes to save some energy. Lee scanned the area to see a walker coming up on his left, ready to lunge. Lee dodged right as he gave the walker a kick with the best of his ability, making it lose its balance for a second. Immediately, a walker behind him grabbed his shoulder and tried to pull Lee and Clem to it.

"Graah!" Lee growled as he saw three more walkers in front, and on the side. He knew he would have to break free now, or they'd be done. Holding Clementine the best as he can with one hand, Lee took out his butcher knife and sliced the hands of the walker. The force made Lee lose his balance as he landed with Clem on a tree, dazing Lee for a while, as the walkers drew closer.

Lee held Clementine tightly, knowing it would be too late to do anything. How could it end like this? Why couldn't they make it out alive...they survived this far and they would die like this?

Clementine opened her eyes for the final time as she looked scared, but she smiled at Lee. At least they'd die together...and for Clem...spending her final seconds of her life with Lee...would be okay.

 _SHNICK!_

Lee and Clem saw an arrow sticking out of a walker's head as it fell to the floor dead.

"What the-?" Lee asked as another arrow took out the next walker.

"We got some people here!" they heard someone say as two men approached.

One was a man in his med twenties with brown, curly hair. Another man was much more older and had black, graying hair. He was the one armed with a crossbow.

"Who are you people?" Lee asked, holding Clementine tightly. "You'll have to get through me if you want to take her away from me.

"Relax..." the younger man raised his hands. "We're not enemies. We were scouting around when we saw you guys surrounded by walkers. We're glad we made it in time. Is she your daughter?"

"..."

"They must be in shock Luke," the older man replied. "You'll have to trust us. There are more walkers coming in. Follow me, we have shelter if you and your daughter want it."

"What's your name?" Lee asked.

"I'm Pete," the older man smiled. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you."

Lee figured that he should trust them...for now. It would be better than dying. Clementine had already drifted off...she needed medical attention, fast.

Lee rose up. "I'm Lee...and this is Clementine...how we got here is a long story."

"Let's first get you both to safety, and then we can talk more," Pete told him.

Lee nodded as Luke led the way, and they began walking.

"So...you two have been surviving out here alone?" Luke asked. "That's pretty impressive, you know?"

"We've been sticking together to survive. She's a really resourceful girl," Lee smiled.

"Is she okay? Tired?" Pete asked.

"We were attacked and she got injured," Lee sighed. "She's losing blood. She needs medical attention, fast, please."

"Don't worry, we have a doctor," Pete smiled.

"Wait, injured?" Luke asked.

They said that at the same time as they looked at each other.

"Holy crap, she could have been bit! She's...gonna turn!" Luke panicked, pointing his gun at her out of instinct.

Lee immediately shielded Clementine and glowered at him. "You'll have to kill me first if you want to even think of killing her! I'll kill you before you lay a hand on her!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Luke raised his hands, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It was just out of instinct! I'm very wary...because...you know how fast they turn!"

"We had an unfortunate accident with someone who we took in that was bit," Pete sighed. "Please excuse him."

"She got bit by a dog," Lee truthfully said. "We were feeding a starving dog and it lunged at her arm, thinking of it as food."

"We didn't see a dog in the forest," Luke accused.

Lee wanted to curse him out, but he wisely held his tongue. "It was back in the forest. She was bitten by a dog...not a walker..."

"Bring them in...we'll bring her in," Pete said. "Carlos can have a look at her and he will determine whether it was a dog or a walker."

Lee could not believe what he was hearing. "How could you even say that?"

"Listen, I understand you care for your daughter a lot, but people would do anything to save themselves or their loved one. I want to believe you...I really do, but we just simply can't take any chances...not with what happened last time," Luke told him.

"And you will look like fools when you figure out she wasn't bit by any damn walker," Lee replied.

Luke looked at him sadly and just sighed. Luke wanted to believe them, he really did, but after what happened the last time, it was getting harder and harder to trust. After all, they could be working for...him.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to the dog?" Pete asked.

"We killed it," Lee replied.

"You did what?" Luke asked in disbelief.

"What the hell were we supposed to do?" Lee crossed his arms.

"Hell, I don't know, but you don't kill dogs!"

"The dog was in pain after Clementine shoved it off her," Lee explained. "The dog was pierced with some spikes and if we didn't grant it swift death, it would have suffered more. We did the right thing."

"Shit..." Luke whispered.

They silently walked on as Lee constantly checked to see if Clementine would wake up.

"U-urgh," the three heard Clementine groan as her eyes fluttered open, as she caught the staring eye of Lee, Luke, and Pete. "L-Lee?"

"I'm right here sweet pea, it's going to be all right."

"Hey kid," Luke sighed. "You feeling okay?"

"My arm feels like crap," Clementine admitted. "I'll be all right..."

"No you won't...you need medical attention," Lee replied. "We're going to get you treatment."

"It's that house right over there," Pete pointed straight ahead. There was a brown house with a right roof that looked really safe to live in.

"Cozy looking house you have there...and who are those people?" Lee asked.

In front of the house were three people already gathered.

"Hm...that's Alvin, Rebecca, and Nick. Looks like they were waiting for us," Luke sighed. "Hey guys! We're over here!"

That caught the attention of them, but Pete scowled at Luke. "Watch your tone, son. You don't want to alert any walkers over here."

"Right, sorry," Luke chuckled nervously as they headed down.

The three new people went to meet them.

"Woah, woah, woah, who the hell are they?" the man with black hair and a hat with a gloomy look asked.

"What are you doing bringing in new people here, Pete?" a woman with brown, curly hair also asked.

"They are Lee and Clementine, Nick," Pete said. "And where the hell are you manners?"

"Manners? I don't need any damn manners!" he scowled, holding on to his shotgun.

"And to answer your question, Rebecca, they were in trouble, so of course Luke and I brought them in. We're not letting anyone be devoured by walkers in my watch," Pete crossed his arms.

The third man, Alvin just looked at Lee and Clementine. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she just needs help, she's losing blood," Lee replied. "Please, can you help her."

"Where are you hurt?" Alvin asked Clementine as she extended her left arm, revealing her dog bite.

"Shit! She's bit!" Nick growled and unknowingly pulled the shotgun trigger as the bullets missed Lee and Clementine by inches.

Clementine gasped in shock and looked at Nick with wide eyes as Lee snarled maliciously. That damn bastard nearly killed both of them.

Pete confiscated his weapon and threw him a nasty growl. "Keep your finger off the trigger, boy!"

"What the hell Nick?!" Luke asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Don't act like you care," Lee was wide eyed. "You sure as hell would want her shot also!"

"Listen man...it's not like..."

"Who knows if they're working with Carver! You know dangerous they are if they work with him!" Rebecca raised her voice. "We simply can't take the risk!"

"Where's your humanity Becc?" Pete asked. "They are people just like you and me..."

"She is bit! What don't you understand about that?"

"She is bit!" Lee agreed, shocking everyone, especially Clem. "By a dog! Not a damn walker like you guys think! Where's the doctor you guys have? Let him take a look at it."

"The doctor is coming out right now," Pete reassured as he gestured to the house door.

Lee turned and saw a hispanic man in his forties who had a similar resemblance to Luke.

"I am a doctor. Let me have a look at your daughter. My name is Carlos." Carlos gently grabbed the arm of Clementine as he unfurled her sweater to reveal her bare arm.

There was a nasty gash that was around three inches long as dried blood caked the edges. She grimaced in pain part of her sweater scraped the open wound.

"Damn, that looks terrible," Alvin winced. "You should be glad you have your father with you to take care of you."

"She's not my daughter," Lee sighed, looking at Carlos. "I took care of her at a young age...found her alone. I see her as a daughter though. I'm Lee by the way...and the girl is Clementine."

"Nice to meet you Lee and Clementine," Carlos nodded.

"Hon, do you really know and trust this man?" Pete asked, skeptically.

"Yes," Clemetine immediately replied, glaring at Pete. "I'd trust him with my life. He's taught me many things and he even saved me multiple times when I was helpless. I owe it to him for living this long."

"Not only me, but to everyone, and especially yourself. If you didn't have the willpower to live, then..." Lee replied.

"You guys seem very tightly knit," Luke said. "I apologize for my behavior back then, but..."

"It's okay Luke," Lee smiled. "You had your reasons. Everyone has something that has happened in the past that may have changed them. I just can't bear to hear from anybody that Clementine was bit by a walker, because I saw with my two eyes, her being bit by a dog."

"I understand." Luke nodded.

"I don't..." Rebecca crossed her arms. "People would do anything to save themselves. Unless Carlos gives me the clear that it's not a walker, I say that we put her down. We can't take any risks."

"You're heartless," Lee shook his head.

Before Rebecca could explode, Clementine stepped in. "Lee, it's okay. None of them has seen me get bit by a dog and they have every right to doubt."

"See, she's a smart girl," Rebecca smirked.

Thankfully, Pete came to Lee's defense. "Rebecca, if I had daughter and I watched her get bit by a dog and not a walker, and stumbled upon some people who wanted to kill her because they thought she was bitten by a walker, I'd be overprotective too. You can't fault the man for what he's doing now. He's defending his girl. That gives me every reason to believe he's telling the truth and that he isn't working for Carver."

"Who is Carver?" Lee asked.

No one answered him as most had their heads down in anger or sadness. Carlos silently continued on examining Clementine's bite.

"Was it a dog Carlos?" Luke finally said.

"Whatever it is, it got her good," Carlos replied.

"Whenever you get bit, you get put down," Nick threateningly approached Clementine as Lee tensed. "End of story. I am not going through what we went through the last time!"

"No one's suggesting that Nick," Luke gently said. "Relax..."

"We could try cutting her arm off. Didn't that work with your cousin in Ainsworth, Pete?" Alvin asked.

"That did," Pete nodded, "But..."

"But, I'm not allowing that. No need for that. It's a dog, not a walker," Lee said. "Who's...that?"

They all looked to see the front door open, with a teenage girl with glasses peeking out. "Dad...who's that?"

"Sarah, go back to your room, right now," Carlos ordered. "What did I tell you?"

Sarah looked pretty depressed as she sighed and closed the door.

"I'm assuming that's your daughter then," Lee observed.

Carlos just nodded as he finished up. "This bite could be anything...we have to be safe. Here is what we can do. We will wait it out."

"Wait, what?" Rebecca asked.

"If it is a lurker bite, she will should have a fever set in by tomorrow," Carlos explained. "Until then, we can lock her in the shed. You don't seem like you are bit Lee. You can come in and get yourself washed up and cleaned. It will get chilly tonight, but we have warm food and a place to sleep for you. I'm offering this to you to prove that we aren't heartless monsters you might think us to be."

"This is inhumane! She needs her cut cleaned! We can't risk an infection!" Lee reasoned. "Please...help her."

"Well, we have exactly the things you need to help get it cleaned up," Alvin smiled.

"Alvin, please..." Rebecca said as Alvin frowned.

"Uh...but we can't do nothing."

"We can't waste it on a lurker bite," Carlos finalized. "I'm sorry, but our mind is set. You can stay with her in the shed overnight if you'd like."

"That's be suicide though," Nick shrugged. "If she turns, she'll come right at you first."

Lee clenched his arms as Luke and Pete scowled at Nick.

"You guys are fucking monsters," Lee growled. "There's a girl here bitten by a dog and in pain, and what do you guys do? You throw her in a shed! Don't you have a heart? A soul? This is basically giving her a death sentence!"

"Hey, you're the one who brought the bit girl here," Nick stared at Lee. "Don't come crying just because we aren't giving you OUR supplies."

"You piece of..." Lee began, but Pete cleared his throat.

"Nick, you better watch what you say," Pete told him. "Don't say anything you might regret. I believe the man. I don't believe a walker did this. I will vouch for her and provide her the materials. If anything does happen and if she really got bit by a lurker, I'll take the blame. I can't have the girl suffering all by herself."

"If she's staying in the shed, I'm staying with her," Lee declared. "I just need to make sure she's safe and I can't bear to stay away from her."

"Oh Lee," Clementine's voice quivered.

"Pete's right," Luke said, staring at Clementine with sad eyes. "I vouch for them also. At least clean her wound up...come on Carlos."

"This shit is stupid," Nick threw his hands angrily in the air and stormed back in the house.

"Do whatever you wish to do," Carlos told Luke and Pete, "But if the girls turns..."

Carlos walked into the house as Rebecca and Alvin trailed in with him.

Lee turned to Luke and Pete. "I...I have to thank you for vouching for her. Luke, I'm also sorry for how I acted back then."

"No worries Lee," Luke smiled. "After I heard the story from you and how you survived together, I began believing. I don't think you are bad people, and we aren't bad people either, but something happened with Nick that has him scarred. The others are just wary. You have to forgive us."

Lee sighed as Clementine stared at him, their eyes locking, as understanding passed in between them.

"Yeah, I understand," Lee replied.

"Thank you," Luke nodded. "The shed is over there. We'll be right back with some supplies. I don't know how to do this, so you better know how to."

Luke led those two to the garden shed as they entered. Luke then closed the door and they heard it lock.

Lee immediately made sure the shed was safe. The shed was built by wood as there were only tools and a table. Thankfully, there were no walkers in there as Lee found a place to sit down on the other side of the shed. Lee also made Clementine sit up, with her back against the wall.

"I'm so sorry Clementine. What happened back there was straight messed up," Lee sighed.

"It's okay Lee," she winced. "My arm hurts...a lot. Thank you for defending me and being in here with me. You could have gone in the house and had some food and a place to be warm. Why didn't you?"

"Clem...do you think I'd leave you here alone?" Lee asked. "I don't care if I have to stay here with you forever without food and water...I'd still choose to be with you."

Clementine smiled. "But...you told me to let go when my life depended on it. When I told you that I wouldn't burn your picture, you told me that if my life was in danger and I had to burn it, to go ahead and burn in. But...now, you're kinda saying the opposite thing."

"Why, aren't you a smart girl?" Lee asked, grinning. He was so proud right now. "This just means that I'll always be there for you. We will find a way out if we were trapped here forever. Don't you worry."

Clementine nodded. "I'm just glad I have you with me. If I was alone, I'd be scared and hurting."

"Don't you even think about that," Lee said. "I'm here for you."

Clementine rested her head on Lee's shoulder as they stood silent for a while, until they heard the shed door open. They looked up to see Pete and Luke enter. Pete was holding some peroxide and a large band-aid, while Luke held on to two water bottles, as well a small bowl of soup.

"Here we are," Pete smiled. "We brought you some peroxide to clean the wound and a band-aid, so you can wrap it around her arm to control the bleeding."

"I also took some food and water for you. Please don't tell them about this," Luke smiled.

"We appreciate it, a lot," Lee genuinely smiled. "You guys are good people. We would never tell about this kind gesture."

"Well, it's the least I can do for you," Luke nodded.

"Hold out here until morning," Pete told them. "Once they see that you're fine tomorrow, they'll feel like fools. Just...one night, okay? I wish it were that easy to let you in, but..."

"It's okay. I understand," Lee said. "You two have been really good to us. We won't forget that."

"Yeah, thank you." Clementine replied.

"Anytime." Pete nodded.

"Hell, it's too cold in here...you'll freeze," Luke shook his head. "I shouldn't be doing this, but...hold on a minute."

As Luke rushed out of the shed, Lee turned to Pete.

"He's off to get you a blanket, I'm assuming," Pete sighed. "Luke is a really good guy. When they find out about the food, water and blankets tomorrow, they won't be happy, but she won't have a massive fever, which should counteract anything they would do."

"I like him," Clementine smiled. "He really is a good guy. Nick on the other hand..."

"He's a good kid too, trust me on this," Pete said. "He may seem like he doesn't care and that he's just a heartless bastard, but he is far from it. Just keep that in mind for now."

Clementine nodded as Luke came in and gave the duo blankets. "We'll see you in the morning. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Thank you Luke and Pete," Lee nodded. "We appreciate it."

They just smiled as they closed and locked the shed door.

"Just from that interaction, we can see that they aren't bad people," Lee told Clementine. "I guess what must have happened in the past was pretty terrible."

"Yeah...I don't blame them," Clem shrugged, wincing.

"Let's get you patched up," Lee said.

They walked over to a working table as Lee set Clementine's left arm on top of it. He doused the gauze paper with peroxide.

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" Clementine cringed.

"This will hurt...like hell," Lee chuckled.

"Ugh..."

Lee chuckled softly. "Are you ready for this? It's okay to scream. Let out the pain, though not too much because we don't want to draw walkers to our attention."

"I'm ready...I'm ready."

Lee gently rubbed the edge of her wound with the rag as Clementine yowled in pain.

"Grahh!"

"It's okay hon, it's okay," Lee reassured, blowing cool air at her wound.

"Lee, please, just g-get it over with," she grit her teeth. "Just...do it in one...one..."

"I understand. Do you want me to hold your arm down so you don't wiggle too much?" Lee asked. "It might have to be a bit forceful, but hopefully that may ease the pain."

"Anything to get this over with," she scowled.

Lee held her arms down as he began wiping her wound rapidly, but not too hard so that it would blister or scar her even more. For Clementine, it was one of the worst pain she had ever felt in her life. It felt like her arm was on fire as a few tears escaped her eye. She could feel Lee holding her arm down forcefully and the pressure only helped a little. A curse almost escaped her lips, but she tried her hardest.

"And done," Lee sighed as he lessened the pressure.

Clementine sighed in relief as the pain died down. She watched her arm as it was wrapped with bandages, courtesy of Lee, and as he pulled away, she felt much more better.

Clementine looked at her arm with an impassive look.

"You're a tough girl, aren't you?" Lee asked.

"You have to be tough to survive," Clementine replied. "But, you also have to be soft to build up your relationship with the ones you love..."

Lee smiled. "That's sweet of you...Come on, let's sit down."

Lee led Clementine to the place where they first sat down, as they relaxed. Lee brought the soup and water and put it in front of Clementine.

"I can assume that we're starving," Lee said. "Well, let's put an end to that right now."

"Thank you Lee."

"Your welcome hon."

Clementine began eating as Lee watched her, reminiscing about the times they spent together. Before Clementine had put the fourth scoop of food in her mouth, she glanced at Lee through the corner of her eye. She saw that he was staring at her, not eating. Clementine closed her mouth and put the spoon down, looking at Lee.

"Is something wrong?" Clementine asked, not at all creeped out. The look Lee was giving her was a look of love, a look of concern.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking...I still can't get past the fact how much you've changed and grown..." Lee said. "From a scared eight year old living by herself in a tree house, to an eleven year old."

"That's just the beauty of life I guess," Clementine smiled. "And I wasn't scared..."

"Sure you weren't," Lee smirked.

"Okay, maybe I was a little bit..."

"It's fine Clem. There are somethings in the world that spook everyone. It's okay to admit that you are scared because it proves that you are still human."

"Are you...or were you scared of anything in the past?" Clementine gently asked, staring at Lee.

"...When I lost you...I felt real fear for the first time," Lee admitted.

Clementine stared at the floor with a sad look. "If you hadn't saved me from that stranger, I don't know what he would have done with me. He didn't physically hurt me, but he was really creepy."

"I do not wish to know what that monster would have done to you once he got his hands on you for good," Lee seethed. "I'm glad I came after you."

"I'm glad too."

"Clem, do you remember when you got a paper cut at my parent's pharmacy?" Lee asked.

"Yeah...we were pushing a wooden table I believe. That hurt. But you helped clean that wound, just like you did right...now," Clementine wistfully smiled. "Lee, I want you to eat too. You haven't touched your food. I'm not talking to you until you eat your food."

Lee chuckled as he finally dug in. As the now lukewarm soup entered his mouth, he sighed.

"Yummy, isn't it?"

"It sure is. It sure is...you know, we can talk ourselves to sleep now," Lee said. "There is just so many things we went through together...and now, even though we're locked in this shed, it will still be safer than what we had to sleep through."

Clementine laid down and put the blanket over head. "Yeah, it is."

"Are you going to take off that hat?" Lee asked. "You never take it off."

"When I'm lucky enough to shower, I do," she replied. "It's my favorite hat. I remember when you found my hat...twice."

"Yep," Lee nodded. "First was the bandits camp and the second was on my way to the Marsh House."

"The bandits camp...I can slightly remember," Clementine sighed. "Where you saved me from almost eating...human."

"Yeah. Those guys were no good at all," Lee scowled, remembering what had happened. "Those sick...monsters...You should not have gone through that...a girl your age...should not have..."

Lee could see Clementine visibly flinch. "All of a sudden, the soup isn't doing well in my stomach..."

"Woah, easy...easy," Lee said. "Let's not talk about that. My mistake..."

"It's not your fault Lee."

"On a lighter note..." Lee tried to think of something to talk about with Clementine, but he couldn't find anything without bringing up those damn walkers.

"Lee, do you remember Crawford?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah, who could forget?" Lee replied, shaking his head.

"Was that place truly bad?"

Lee thought about it for a while. "Yes, it was. Just because we live a life filled with walkers, doesn't give any of us the right to operate how they were operating. They only looked after themselves...and that itself isn't the evil thing. If you want to live, you have to look out after yourself, but they used their power to oppress the weak. I believe the leader of Crawford was Oberson...he had the right idea. He barricaded a piece of Savannah and it seems like he truly cared and looked out for his people. When power is involved, that's when things might end up for the worse. What he did to the sick, the old, and the children...that is not how it should have been done."

"Why did he want them gone?"

"Because, he only saw them as excess baggage...extra mouths to feed. That is what led to the demise of Crawford. There was this woman, who I watched on tape. She was forced to get an abortion, or just walk away. Walking away from Crawford would be suicide...and getting an abortion isn't easy."

"What's abortion?" Clementine asked, looking Lee right in the eye.

Lee winced as he stared back. Should he tell her?

"The lady was pregnant...she was going to have a baby," Lee explained.

"Just like...Christa. I hope she's okay."

"Yes, just like Christa. And I also hope she is okay too. She's a strong woman. She'll survive."

"B-but...Omid," Clementine replied. "He..."

"I know hon. He was a funny guy. He knew when to lighten the mood. I don't want to sound cruel...but after seeing everything that happened...you just can't let one's death get to you. You can miss them and you can mourn for them, but you should never let it stop you from living. You understand me? There may be a time I may die...hell, it could be from a walker or from a car crash, but if you're the one to survive, I need you to abandon me, and search for safety."

"No, I won't do that! You won't die!" Clementine glared at Lee, hurt that he would even say that.

"You can't say that easily," Lee gently urged. "I'm not saying that I'll easily give in and die, but anything can happen this world. Remember, it is your safety that you should be concerned about the most. If I'm about to die, and it's either you run away or save me and die with me, I want you to run away, okay?"

"I won't do that! Stop saying that!" she hissed. "You...how could you could talk about that so easily? We're a team and I won't lose you...not again."

Lee looked down and didn't say anything. Her emotions were high and she went through a lot today. He couldn't hurt her with his words...even if it was the harsh truth.

"I'm sorry Clem," Lee apologized. "I didn't mean to rile you up like that. I trust you enough to know that you will make the right decision."

Clementine heaved a sigh and shook her head, wiping away a few stray tears. "I'm sorry Lee for yelling at you. It's just..."

"No need to explain, hon. I get it. I think we've done enough talking for one day. Why don't we go to sleep?"

"Yeah, and prove them wrong tomorrow..."

"I'd like that very much."

Clem smiled at Lee and then closed her eyes.

"Clem," Lee gently said as she opened her eyes. "Even though I keep telling you this, know that I love you and I'll protect you no matter what. You're all that I have left now, and I will try my hardest to make sure you survive through all this."

"I trust you Lee and I love you too. Thanks for everything. I really mean it."

"You're a sweet girl. Don't forget that."

When Lee didn't hear a response, he looked at Clementine, to find her asleep already, breathing softly. Lee couldn't help but to smile as he too closed his eyes.


	4. A Blast to the Past

**Know that I read all of your reviews and take it to heart. Appreciate it. Hopefully the dialogue improves as does the story. Enjoy this chapter.**

 **Also, in the dialogues of the game, Clementine has a chance to be very nice and forgiving, or be a cold, harsh girl. I'll try to juggle around and try to fit her character as both.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: A Blast to the Past**

Lee and Clementine were fast asleep when they were awoken by the sound of the locks of the shed becoming undone, as the sun's rays pierced them. Lee immediately rose up and rubbed his eyes as the shed opened, while Clementine buried herself deeper into the cover.

"It's time to get up Clem. They'll be onto us any second now," Lee said as he pulled the blankets off of her.

She groaned and groggily rose up, rubbing her eyes.

They were met by Pete, Nick, Luke, Alvin, Rebecca, and Carlos who seemed to look very curiously at Clementine.

Clementine just stared at them. "Not turned..."

"I knew that girl was saying the truth," Luke said. "I told you she wasn't bitten."

"If I recall correctly son, you pointed your gun at her when Lee first showed her dog bite to you," Pete helpfully said.

"Okay...it was at that moment. I'm talking about right now."

"Heh, it's all good," Lee smiled, but then frowned at the rest of the group. "Imagine if she hadn't been treated and was locked in the shed yesterday...things could have been much worse. Now can you see we've been telling you guys the truth?"

"Well doc?" Nick asked, still holding on to his shotgun. "What do you say about this mess?"

Carlos examined the band-aid wrapped around Clementine and checked her forehead to see if she had a fever or not. He did not find that her temperature had increased to the point where it would be deemed a walker bite. "If she was bitten by a walker, the fever would be out of the roof. I guess you proved us wrong."

Lee smirked as Clementine tiredly smiled.

"Great, you can come in now then, now that _that's_ settled," Alvin warmly smiled at them.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up," Rebecca said. "We still don't know if they are working for Carver. Also, how in the world did they get blankets and food? Did they steal...from us?"

"Yeah, did you guys steal?" Nick raised his eyebrows.

Luke looked pretty nervous that his secret might be spilled, but Lee didn't rat him out. "We would've froze to death if we didn't have that. We're sorry about it, but we needed it..."

"I knew they were a thief also," Rebecca glared at them. "How will we know if they won't steal any of our stuff when we let them in? This is still a horrible plan...we should just let them go on their own."

"Alright, alright, enough," Pete cut in. "I was the one who gave them the food, water, and blankets. I couldn't have them freeze of sleep hungry. So if you want someone to blame, blame me."

Rebecca glared at Pete, but didn't say anything else as Luke looked more ashamed of himself for not speaking up.

"Why don't you come in then?" Carlos asked. "You have earned the right too. We can all sit down and talk about you and us."

"Yeah, we need to get the chance to more about each other and trust each other," Luke agreed. "Perhaps by hearing from our side of the story and us hearing from yours, we can find a common ground. We aren't bad people, really."

"You COULD have killed Clementine yesterday...and refused us this shed to sleep in. I don't think you guys are all that bad," Lee said.

"We aren't. Really," Luke looked at Lee in the eye. "Come on in."

One by one, they all trailed inside the house. Lee and Clementine began examining the house, looking to see if it was safe. After all, they had every right to be wary. The house looked ordinary and nothing seemed out of place. There was a kitchen with the dishes piled up, as well as a large table and some chairs, where they had dinner. There were also some stairs that led up, but Carlos turned their attention away from it.

"Why don't you all sit down here?" Carlos politely asked, gesturing a seat to them as they all got seated.

"Comfortable place you have here," Clementine said.

"It's as comfortable as it gets," Pete chuckled. "Thankfully, our house is pretty well protected from walkers. Hordes don't get up here, but once in a while, you may have a few stray walkers."

This house immediately reminded Lee of St. John's Dairy as his nose crinkled up. No...this was nothing like that place.

"So...what do you want to know?" Lee asked the first question.

"Well Lee, Clementine," Carlos said. "We want to know how you ended up here. How did Luke and Pete manage to find you guys? It's pretty rare to have visitors."

Clementine and Lee looked at each other as understanding passed between them.

"We...were headed to Wellington," Lee began. "We had a group of four and we headed north from Savannah. We were on our trek there for sixteen months when one night, bandits struck. One killed our guy, and we don't know where the other went. We ran away from them, and ended up falling into a current, which dragged us to a lake. We headed upwards and found an abandoned camp and some food and a dog, who belonged to the group at the camp. Unfortunately, the dog was hungrier than we thought he was, so as Clementine was about to feed him, he sunk his teeth deep into her so she had to kick him off."

"That's how I got my bite," Clementine added, staring at all of them. "Because of that dog...not because of a walker."

"You're a tough kid, you know that?" Pete smiled.

"She really is," Lee nodded.

"I can't take all the credit," Clementine said. "I've known Lee for three years now. Back when he found me alone, I was a scared girl, but being with Lee all this time and learning from him, he toughened me up."

"It was her mindset, that she was willing to change. When a girl that was eight had to see everything going on, with some things that were unspeakable, it just saddens you, you know?"

Carlos sighed, reminiscing about his daughter Sarah. Hearing a little from them, he felt comfortably with sharing some information about Sarah. "The girl you saw yesterday, Sarah, remember?"

Lee and Clementine nodded.

"You have to be very careful with her. She may seem like a normal girl first glance, but I've avoided showing her any of these things that have been happening. If my daughter were to see any of it, she would cease to function. I ask of you to please avoid interacting with her. If by any chance you do, keep things quick and concise with her."

"We will Carlos. You don't have to worry." Lee affirmed.

"Thank you."

They heard Nick sigh as Clementine and Lee looked at him, with the latter staring at him with hostility.

"Hey, look," Nick gently said. "Um...I just wanted to say I'm s-sorry for being a dick out there. I got kinda aggro and that was definitely not cool."

"Nick's been known to go off every once in a while," Luke explained. "Don't hold it against him."

"I guess we had our moments..."

"Yes, you definitely did, Nick."

Lee looked at Clementine who was staring at Nick. "You were just protecting your friends. I get it."

"I didn't mean to be so harsh," Nick scratched his chin. "We just...had a bad experience once..."

Everyone, even Pete looked at Nick with sympathy.

"What happened?" Clementine asked.

"Clem..." Lee said.

"No, it's okay. I owe you both an explanation..." Nick sighed, rubbing his face. "I...I lost my mom. We were taking care of someone who got bit...and...it's all my fault..."

"It's no one's fault, son..." Pete reassured. "That was a situation we couldn't control..."

"Anyways...the person we took care of, turned and bit my mom. We couldn't do anything," Nick continued on. "I...I had to put...put her down..."

Lee and Clementine stared at him sadly.

"I'm sorry," Lee apologized. "No one should ever have to go through that. I'm sorry Pete about your...wife."

"Oh, she wasn't my wife," Pete explained. "She was my sister. Nick's my nephew, but I call him son."

"I see."

"Which annoys the living crap outta me," Nick said, annoyed.

"Deal with it son."

Clementine had to smile.

"So, if you aren't his daughter, how'd you end up together?" Luke asked. "I'm wondering that. Did you just stumble upon her by chance?"

Lee thought for a bit, unsure of how much to explain. They had somewhat earned his trust when he heard about Carlos' daughter and what happened with Nick's mom. He decided he would tell parts and pieces of what had transpired.

"I was on my prison actually, when all this started," Lee began as Clementine stared sadly at the table in front of her. "The cop hit a walker that was in front of us and the car spiraled out of control and to the ground. The cop immediately died and I was at the back of his car with a broken leg. I forced myself out of the car when the officer turned and came closer to me. I couldn't walk well, so I find a shotgun and spare bullets and I killed him. After releasing my restraints, I met Clementine. She was watching me from the distance and when she ran away, I followed her to her house. We talked through the walkie talkie when her babysitter, who had turned, attacked me. Clementine brought me a hammer and that saved my life. After getting to know her name and realizing that she was living by herself up that tree house, I knew I had to take care of her. I promised her we'd find her parents and she tagged along with me. That's how this crazy adventure began."

Everyone was listening to the story with all ears.

"And what age was she again? Sorry," Luke said, embarrassed.

"She was eight," Lee responded. "Eight years old."

"That's a pretty young age to be tangled up in this," Pete stated.

"It was...Now she's eleven, and I still think it's still a pretty young age. There were so much things we as a group had to go through...it seemed like it became worse the longer we progressed..."

"Do you mind telling us what you went through? Just to get the gist of what you had to suffer through," Alvin gently told them. "No pressure, we're not forcing you or anything."

"Are you okay with sharing some of these Clementine?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. I trust them."

"Okay then...the first traumatizing thing that happened to us was St. John's Dairy," Lee shook his head as Clementine scrunched her face in disgust and sadness. "They offered us food and protection in exchange of us helping them work. What we didn't know was that, that place was a slaughterhouse. They butchered human who were about to die and fed them...or ate them."

Everyone in the table visibly paled or shook with rage.

"What? That's crazy! What kind of crazy shit is that?" Luke asked.

Carlos shook his head. "What has this world come to now...?"

"Don't worry. They won't be doing any more of that," Lee reassured. "I had my suspicions of that place and it wasn't until dinner time when I found out. They had prepared a meal for us, but a friend of ours, Mark was missing. I found him in a room with both of his legs sawed up, being served to our group...and Clementine. I stopped her from eating it, but the others weren't lucky. When we realized they intended to pick all of us one by one, they struck and knocked us and put us in the cell. It was there we were faced with a difficult decision. There was this man named Larry who was...who had a heart attack and collapsed. His daughter tried to convince us that he was still alive, but our friend Kenny said that we couldn't take any chances. We had to smash his face in to avoid him from turning."

"I was scared then..." Clementine admitted. "I thought that killing was wrong and that it shouldn't happen. Unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to believe at that time. I couldn't grasp the concept of being bit and turning."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Nick shook his head. "That is straight fucked up."

"Hey, language..." Clementine warned, looking at him with serious eyes as he rubbed his head in embarrassment.

Pete chuckled.

"Hey, I'm not the only one who's been cursing," Nick replied.

Clementine looked back at the table with a sigh.

"H-how'd you get out?" Luke asked, wanting to know.

"We unhooked the AC unit as Clem went through it to unlock the door from the other size. We're thankful we had someone as small as Clem..."

"I really hope being small doesn't come to haunt me," Clementine said.

"I'm sure you'll have your uses," Luke smiled.

Clementine stared at him for a moment, then looked away.

"Clementine, what was your thought process when you had to go through that?" Carlos asked.

"Back then, we were all hungry, so all I cared about was food and not being lonely," she sadly said. "I didn't know how dangerous it was until Lee warned me to not eat the food. I was pretty stupid and clueless back then."

"Clementine, that is not your fault," Carlos was the one to speak up. "When you're young, you're brain is incapable of making the decisions a fully grown adult would make, or even a teenager. That is why children are raised by their parents of their guardians, to learn about the outside world. You think differently than you would have done three years ago."

"I can totally agree with that," Lee smiled. "You are much more smarter than you were three years ago, much more mature."

"Well, I wish it would have turned out different," Clementine crossed her arms a bit angrily. "I was so set on finding my parents. I thought they were alive. I had hope that they were alive and I got mad when Lee and the others didn't help me find them. I ran away from them...to a random stranger who I talked to with my walkie talkie because he said that he had my parents. If I were smarter, I would have known that they couldn't have survived...yet, I...I..."

"That's enough," Lee gently said. "Yes, I was worried when you were missing, but who wouldn't want to find their parents? Don't blame yourself for what happened in the past."

"Is that convincing enough that they are not with Caver, Becc?" Alvin asked.

Rebecca just stared at the two and sighed.

"Do you mind telling us who Carver is?" Lee asked with curiosity. "You keep asking us if we are with him, but this is the first time we're hearing his name."

The rest looked at each other, silently debating if they should.

"You trusted us with your past, so allow us to do the same," Pete finalized. "William Carver...he's a real bad man. We were trapped in his camp for a while before we planned our escape. Luke and him butted heads about his leadership, to the point where Rebecca found it unbearable. After escaping, we finally settled here because we knew he'd come back for us. That is also why Rebecca mistrusted you guys at first. If you were working with Carver, you would have told him about us leaving here, and then he'd know."

"I especially have a bad relationship with him," Rebecca muttered in disgust. "I still don't trust you two, but you guys don't seem as bad as I thought you were."

"It's okay guys. Stick with us long enough and she'll end up trusting you," Alvin smiled.

"What was bad with Carver, if you don't me asking?" Clementine asked.

Luke turned to Clementine. "He was douchebag...the way he ran that place was far from what I had thought about that place. He was a blood thirsty tyrant and wasn't afraid to hurt or kill others to save his own neck. He always claimed that it was the strong that was supposed to lead the weak, since the weak couldn't lead at all. He was very oppressive and trust me, if you had been there when we had, you would have ran away also."

"You know, from what you are saying, his 'camp', as you guys say, reminds me a lot about Crawford," Lee stated.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Clementine nodded.

"Though I believe Crawford is much worse. I'm saying that though because I've never experienced Carver and although I haven't experienced Crawford in person, all the stories Vernon and Molly had to tell..."

"Crawford...that name sounds awful familiar," Pete muttered.

"What exactly is Crawford?" Carlos asked.

"Can I try explaining to them, Lee?" Clementine turned to Lee.

"Of course you can. I'll add in any details you may miss."

"Okay. From the top of my head...Crawford was a place where only the healthy could live without fear," Clementine explained. "They did not welcome the elderly, the disabled, and children. From what Lee told me, Crawford killed them and displayed them to the outside in gruesome ways to keep others out. I...I remember seeing some walkers impaled on a stick. That place was terrible..."

No one spoke for the longest time.

"No fucking way...that is beyond fucked up," Nick whispered.

Clementine glared at him, but trained her glare at the table.

"They thought that by cutting themselves off from the rest of the world and only rationing food and safety to the strong and able, that they could get by this. They thought that their place was impenetrable...We tried to sneak in to take some supplies, when we found out the whole city was overrun by walkers." Lee added.

"How did it...fall?" Rebecca asked.

Lee sighed. "While we were trying to look for the combination to the medicine cabinet, we came upon two tapes. There was a doctor with a pregnant woman...since child bearing wasn't allowed, the doctor offered her two choices. Either she could carry on with abortion, or she could have the child, but they had to leave Crawford. Leaving Crawford would be a death sentence."

"Wait Lee...you haven't told me what abortion means," Clementine said, looking up at him.

"Um..." Lee thought, wondering if he should BS the explanation. "You're a little too young to know."

Clementine gave him a look that said, ' _You're crazy!_ '

"I'm a little young...?" Clementine scoffed. "Lee, this young girl saw many things that a girl my age shouldn't see."

"She has a point there," Luke chuckled.

"I'm sure you could figure out what abortion means," Lee said. "It's a pretty tough subject for all of us."

"It won't bother me." Clementine crossed her arms.

"I know it won't Clem, but..."

"If the girl wants to know, you should let her know," Carlos replied. "It's not good if you keep shying away from subjects someone wants to talk about. I can explain it to her if you wish."

"Yeah, I think it'd be for the best," Lee agreed.

"Clementine, to have an abortion is to terminate the life of the child before he or she is born," Carlos explained. "It's a very horrible thing that has been a heated debate topic from all over the world."

"Killing a child?" Clementine asked. "That's terrible!"

"It sure is," Rebecca growled. "If you have a child, you better have the child. There is no damn reason to get an abortion."

Clementine felt very angry. Now that she knew what it truly meant, she had a fire raging in her heart. She hadn't felt that since...

"It's okay Clementine," Lee immediately said, trying to cool her off. "It is a terrible thing, but we shouldn't dwell on it too long. Anyways, that put the woman in the hospital in a very tough spot. She was give one more day to think of it and when she met with the doctor again, she stabbed him and left him for dead. That is how the chain started. The impenetrable fortress they thought they were living in crumbled."

"All of them deserved that," Rebecca nodded. "Every single of them..."

"I'm sure not all of them were like that," Alvin reasoned with her. "You can't damn an entire city just by the actions of a few."

"Alvin, were you even listening to what they said? They killed children, the elderly, and the disabled!"

"I was listening hon, but I'm sure not all of them wanted that," Alvin sighed. "Anyways, that is indeed a tragic place. Carver's camp isn't exactly like that, you know, but that place is still terrible."

"And you both went through all of that," Luke said. "That...that's just..."

"Messed up? Yeah, it is," Lee chuckled. "But, we made it out alive, and stronger than ever. We lost many friends and family also, but we had each other. You know, I also learned a lot from her. I wasn't good with kids at all since I've never them, but she...she was really something. She helped me to understand what it felt like to truly care for someone."

Clementine looked up and smiled at him.

"You don't have to worry about no damn walkers or any of that stuff you had to go through," Pete rose up and looked them both in the eye. "You are free to stay here as long as you like. We have a guest room you and Clementine can use together. Uh, Clementine, I know he's not your father, but we have only bed. Are you okay with sharing it with him?"

"If you don't, I can always sleep on the floor," Lee helpfully added.

"No...I'm not letting you do that. I'm okay with that," Clementine smiled. "I trust him."

"Well...welcome to the family, officially, kinda," Luke awkwardly said.

"Appreciate it Luke," Lee chuckled. "You know, you need to work on your speech. Some words that come out of your mouth, well it's very awkward."

"Hey, no need to remind me," he scowled.

"I can show you to your rooms," Rebecca rose up, wincing.

"Hon, no. You sit down and relax. I can show them their rooms," Alvin volunteered. "You guys didn't have breakfast, right?"

"I got their breakfast, don't worry," Pete smiled and rose up, walking into the kitchen.

Clementine couldn't help, but to squirm and wince as she smelled something putrid most likely from sleeping in the shed overnight.

"Um, do you have a shower? I'm very filthy and I smell," Clementine admitted.

"Oh, you sure do," Lee chuckled as Clementine glared at him.

"Says the one who smells also..."

"You got me there."

"Yes, we do have working hot water," Carlos nodded. "Though I would ask you guys to please conserve."

"Oh no problem. We know all about conserving," Lee said.

"Why don't you follow me? I'll lead you to your room," Alvin replied. "Lee, you can stay here and eat your breakfast. Hell, we all need a good breakfast to go on through the day."

"Appreciate Alvin."

"Anytime."

While Alvin led Clementine to the room, Lee, turned to the others. "I can't thank you enough for all you are doing for us. How can we repay?"

"Don't worry about Lee. We all owe you after what happened yesterday," Luke told him. "Though we usually hunt our game. Do you know how to use a rifle or a shotgun?"

"Yep, sure do."

"Great. Then, you can help us with that," Luke said. "I still can't grasp my head around what you both had to go through. From what I'm hearing from you and her...you must really care for each other."

"Didn't you hear what they've been through and how they acted yesterday to each other?" Rebecca asked. "That should be pretty obvious."

"But, I'm sure you've had more people with you...where are they? I recall you talking about being in a group," Nick stated.

"They're all dead...or ran away," Lee sighed. "We've lost many people and I almost lost Clementine also. I don't know what I would do if I lost her also..."

"I know it will be a terrible burden on you," Carlos shook his head. "If I lost my daughter, I wouldn't know what to do."

"I already almost lost her once...I can't lose her again."

"How'd you...lose her?" Luke asked.

"That's not appropriate to ask, Luke," Carlos crossed his arms.

"No, no, it's okay," Lee heaved another sigh. "Clementine had her mind set on the fact that her parents were still alive. That led her to be manipulated by this man on the radio who convinced Clementine he had her parents. He lured Clementine to meet him and when he did, he locked her in a room. When I found him, he explained that he had a family too, but because of his irresponsibility, they died and he wanted Clementine as a replacement daughter."

"He didn't hurt her, did he?" Rebecca asked.

"No...not from my knowledge. I was so relieved when I found her. She apologized and I apologized also. Since this was my first time taking care of a child, I didn't know how to properly express my care and love for her and that kinda drew us apart. The longer we spent time together after that, the more I realized how much of a blessing she was."

Lee was cut off when he heard footsteps. They looked up to see Alvin with a smile. "She was impressed at the size of the room. It is not very big, but it's not small either. It should be comfortable for both of you. Anyways, what'd I miss?"

"Nothing much dear," Rebecca said.

"Well, you almost missed your breakfast," Pete came in, smiling. "We have some vegetable stew. For lunch, we'll have some delicious game Nick and I went hunting for yesterday. Of course Nick wasn't much help."

"Will you just lay off of me?" Nick growled.

"Never happening, son." Pete chuckled.

"Sarah, get down here please. We're having breakfast!" Carlos called out.

"Coming dad!" came her voice.

"Now, we should stop talking about all this when she's here. She can't hear any of what we're talking about," Carlos requested.

"No problem Carlos. We won't talk about it." Lee smiled.

"Thank you."

Sarah came down the stairs as she caught sight of Lee. "Dad, dad, who's that? Why is the shower running upstairs? Is that girl from yesterday here also?"

"Relax sweetie. Sit down and eat your food. Say hi to Lee."

"Hi Mr. Lee," she smiled.

"Hello Sarah," he smiled back.

"How do you know my name?"

"We told him sweetheart. It's okay," Carlos said. "He and his...daughter Clementine will be staying here for a while, okay?"

"Oh, a friend! I always wanted a friend!" Sarah grinned from ear to ear.

"Easy Sarah..." Carlos sighed.

Breakfast was eaten in silence as Sarah occasionally glanced at Lee, but then immediately pretended like she didn't do anything and went back to eating. Lee had to inwardly chuckle. Sarah was the one who finished her breakfast first as she was ordered to go back to her room by Carlos.

"Are you sure it's okay to keep your daughter like this?" Lee couldn't help but to ask. "I'm not saying your doing a bad job or anything, it's just that I feel bad for the poor girl."

"I would like to first thank you for not paying my daughter any mind. I believe I can trust you. To answer your question, yes, it is okay. I have to be firm with my daughter about this...she can't be exposed to what is going on outside...she simply can't."

"She'll one day have to..."

"No. Please, let the subject go," Carlos looked on sadly.

"I'm...sorry for intruding."

"It's okay. I could understand why," Carlos sighed. They heard footsteps as Carlos rose up in indignantly. "Sarah, I thought I told you to st-"

Carlos immediately stopped himself as he saw Clementine coming down the steps, who was looking at Carlos curiously.

"I-I'm sorry about that Clementine," Carlos said.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked.

"Yes, your breakfast," Lee smiled. "Eat up Clementine. I should be going upstairs too. How was it?"

"The water was really amazing. I found a few bugs in my hair."

Lee chuckled. "Aren't you glad your hair is short? If it were longer, I'm sure there would have been more bugs."

"Yeah, I guess I'm glad."

"Here, let me show you to your room," Alvin smiled at Lee.

"You've done enough Alvin, that's okay," Lee replied.

"Nonsense, if I had done enough, I wouldn't be volunteering to do this. Now, let's go."

Alvin led Lee upstairs as Clementine took a seat. Luke put her food in front of her. "It's soup like yesterday. Hope you enjoy. For lunch, we'll have some meat. You excited?"

"Kinda," she gave a half smile. "The room is really nice."

"Sometimes I wish that were my room," Luke chuckled. "But, oh well, beggars can't be choosers."

Clementine began eating her food, slowly as most in the room stared at her. She stopped eating and stared back. "Is there...something on my face?"

"Oh no, there's nothing there Clem," Luke shook his head. "Sorry for staring."

Nick rose up. "Well, I'll be in my room. I have some things to catch up with."

Pete stood up also and grabbed Nick's arm. "Put that on hold. I have other plans for you. We're going hunter once Lee comes down. We'll bring Clementine along. We can show her how this works and maybe she can learn to use a rifle. Hopefully even much better than you."

"Oh piss off!" Nick grouched.

Pete sighed. "You okay with learning to shoot a rifle? Have you shot a rifle before?"

"Not a rifle...but I know how to shoot a gun," Clementine said.

"In this world, who doesn't?" Nick chuckled.

"My daughter," Carlos calmly replied as Nick rubbed his head. "Where'd you learn how to shoot a gun Clementine?"

"From Lee right?" Luke asked. "At this point, it should be pretty obvious."

"I learned most of my survival skills from Lee," Clementine explained. "He taught me how to shoot a gun and he told me to keep my hair short in case walkers decided to grab it."

"That's smart of him. It may be preposterous to teach a little girl too shoot, but in the end, knowing how to shoot a gun or wield a weapon can be the difference between life and death," Luke agreed.

"Lee may have taught me, but it was actually his old homeless man named Chuck that brought it to Lee's attention," Clementine thought. "He told me that I would die like every other and that made Lee mad. He confronted Charles, but he only meant that I should be the taught how to defend myself."

"What happened to Charles, Clementine?" Rebecca asked.

Clementine looked down, shaking her head.

"What happens to the rest of us if you don't live," Nick said. "He's dead."

Clementine immediately thought of Duck for some reason when Nick said that. She remembered how she had thought of him as annoying and how she put bugs in his pillow to scare him. When Clementine knew what happened to Duck and what was going to happen to him, it saddened her greatly. Her lips quivered as she suddenly felt a rush of emotions envelop her. He didn't deserve to die like that...she knew that he was sick and scared.

"Everything okay Clementine?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, I was just...counting my blessings," she said. "I lost many friends, but..."

"You still have Lee by your side," Luke finished. "You know, when sh-...I mean, when things go down and you are found in your most helpless moments, it is nice to turn to the others you still have."

"Yeah, I still have Lee."

"And you have the rest of us also, so don't worry about it," Luke smiled.

"I appreciate it..."

"You're a really tough girl. You'll get through this world," Pete said. "I've been watching you and I know you have a heart of gold, yet you have this toughness also in you and an unbreakable will. Don't let indecision make you pay the price."

Clementine did not understand what he was saying, but she accepted his advice. "Yeah...thank you."

After falling into comfortable silence for a while, Clementine saw Lee come down the stairs, all freshened up.

"Lee!" she said and hugged him tightly. "I...thank you for all you've done for me. I-I love you."

"Woah Clem, you've thanked me enough times already. Why are you thanking me now?" Lee was confused. "I love you too by the way."

"I'm just...appreciating my blessings," she grinned as Lee chuckled, patting her head.

"Great, now that that's all out of the way, why don't we head out?" Pete asked. "You, me, Nick, and Clementine can go and hunt some animals. You know how to use a rifle, Lee? I heard from Clementine that she doesn't."

"I know how to use it, yeah. As for Clementine, she'll have to learn. The kick would knock her down and it would hurt," Lee replied.

"Oh you bet it would. Well, then, let's go."

"Stay safe, all of you," Rebecca finally smiled. "I don't want any of you not coming back safely, you hear?"

"Yeah, yeah, we get you," Pete replied. "We will all return in once piece very soon."

"You ready for this Clementine?" Lee asked.

"Heck yeah, I'm ready. Let's go hunt," Clementine said with fervor.

"That's the kind of attitude I like," Lee praised.

Clementine and Lee waved good bye to the group and exited, with Pete and Nick following behind them.

"The trail is to your right. Follow that sign to go to the river. We're right behind ya," Pete explained.

"Thanks Pete," Lee nodded as he put his arm around Clementine, "Say, I think we found ourselves a temporary place, yeah?"

"Yeah, it really is good here. I won't miss sleeping outside."

"Me neither Clem...me neither. Maybe, our luck has finally turned better for the change."

"And you just jinxed it..." Clementine crossed her arms.

Lee laughed as he smiled at the warm sun. Maybe he and Clem...finally found a hope and people they could rely on and trust.


	5. Shooting Rifles and Playing Chess

**Hey guys. Here's another chapter. We won't advance the plot in this chapter, so we'll have this as another bonding moment between Lee, Clem, Pete, and Nick. Hope you enjoy. Please know that I read all your reviews and take it to heart. I appreciate all the kind words. Thank you. It's hard portraying some of these characters because I don't solely want to base all the dialogue on the video game. You know, I want to also add some other things that they might have said so bear with me. I'm working on the flaws and hopefully it gets better. Thank you all again.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Shooting Rifles and Playing Chess**

"Okay, so for today, we're going to teach you how to use a rifle Clementine," Pete smiled. "Soon, you'll be able to hunt deer and any other wild animal that may come within the range of the rifle. Lee, are you okay with her being taught that?"

"Won't the noise draw all the walkers here?" Lee asked.

"Nick and I have been doing this for a long time," Pete smirked. "We killed most walkers and there aren't usually too many here. The thick trees make it hard for them to navigate. And luckily, we get some animals here if we're lucky. You know, this is where I taught my boy how to shoot. Actually, I have a funny story when Nick was a little boy, about your age, Clem."

"Not now," Nick growled. "Seriously, will you just stop doing this to me for one minute? You're constantly on my ass about everything. Why the hell are you so hard on me?"

"Because you're an ass to everyone else," Pete deadpanned.

"Oh relax Pete," Lee sighed. "He went through a lot. We understand why he acted like that."

"Yes, but with that itchy trigger finger of his, he could have blown your guts out," Pete replied. "There's not excuse for him even thinking about firing that gun at you all."

"I said I was sorry already...give me a break!" Nick grouched.

Pete stared at him, then shook his head. "Okay Clementine. I'm going to let you shoot this rifle I'm holding right now so you can get a feel for it. After your shot, I can teach you how terribly you're holding the rifle and then Lee can go and check to see if you're okay, because you'll probably fall on your ass the first time."

Lee chuckled and shook his head as Clem shot him a look. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing Clem."

Clementine raised her eyebrows as Pete handed her the rifle.

"This here's the Ruger American rifle...the .308," Pete said, handing Clementine a beautiful black, sleek rifle with a scope. "Made out of alloy steel. It's really something. We can practice shooting that on that fallen log over there. Hold up a minute."

"It's...heavy," she winced, struggling with the rifle.

"Well that sucks...Guess that means we can't teach you yet..." Nick chuckled.

"Don't worry about it Clem. As you get older, you can learn how to shoot rifles," Lee encouraged.

"Can I still try using it once?" Clementine asked, looking at Lee hopefully.

"It's going to be painful..."

"Come on Lee. Once won't hurt. She has to learn how to shoot a rifle someday," Pete said.

"I think a handgun is plenty and she's good with that," Lee reasoned.

"Yes, that is very good indeed, but having another arsenal up your sleeve is also good strategy."

"Do you love guns or something?" Lee couldn't help but to ask.

"Hell yeah I do," he chuckled. "Have myself a collection of guns up in my room. I have a variety of pistols, assault rifles, shotguns, you name it...I also have some grenades, but those are too loud...and destructive."

"Grenade?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah, grenades."

"So Lee, can I?" Clementine turned to Lee.

"If I said no, would you not to do it?"

Clementine stared at Lee as he chuckled. "Go for it, but be careful."

"Thanks," she smiled.

Lee could only sigh. Clementine might feel sore after this.

Pete walked over to grab a piece of broken glass as he put it on top of the log.

"How do you expect me to shoot that?" Clementine asked in disbelief.

"I don't," Pete laughed as Clementine rolled her eyes. "Look, just aim anywhere except near any of us."

"I really like how much faith you guys have in me," Clementine stated. "Is it because I'm just a girl?"

"No, not because of that kid," Nick sighed. "It's really hard learning how to shoot a rifle, especially if this is your first time. You said that the rifle was heavy and by saying that, well...it's gonna be hell."

"How bad can it be?" asked Clementine as she hoisted the rifle and aimed the barrel of the gun at the log. She got ready to pull the trigger as Pete saw that she was holding the gun too loosely.

Pete signaled all three men to back up as they did. Nick had to wince. This was going to be painful.

 _BANG!_

"Ah!" Clementine gasped as she fell right on her bottom, the rifle clattering to the floor.

"Clem, are you okay?" Lee asked, immediately rushing over to her.

"Oww, my shoulders...my ears are ringing very loudly," Clem groaned, massaging them. "W-what happened?"

"The recoil got you good," Lee replied.

Clementine glared at the rifle. "Well...I guess I'm not learning how to shoot that..."

"Are you okay there hon?" Pete asked. "Your posture was not good at all. You held that rifle to loosely. It'll hurt the first couple of times you shoot a rifle, but with practice, you'll get better. Don't you worry. After all, when I taught Nick how to shoot this damn thing, he went crying to his mommy. Wouldn't speak to me for a while."

"Oh fuck you!" Nick growled. "You don't gotta tell them any of that. I'm sick of you constantly picking on me!"

"We went over this multiple times, son. Deal with it," Pete replied as he went to pick up the rifle.

The noise of the rifle drew the attention of three walkers.

"Walkers!" Lee warned.

"Oh don't worry about that," Pete replied as he and Nick picked them off with their guns. "Remember what I said. We get a few stragglers."

"I wouldn't want to push my luck," Lee crossed his arms. "Who knows when I horde may spring up at any time?"

"Then we'll be ready for 'em," Pete smiled. "Clem, you ready to try shooting that rifle again?"

"...No."

"I won't take no for an answer. Let me just teach you how to properly hold a rifle then."

Pete handed the rifle to Clementine who stared at it.

"Don't be afraid of the rifle," Pete explained. "It's just a weapon...a tool. Basically, you are giving it orders when to fire. If no one pulls the trigger, how can this rifle be discharged?"

"Um, Uncle Pete? Are you sure it's a good idea to just teach her how to hold a gun at this point?" Nick asked. "Shouldn't you...oh I don't know, teach her the basics of a rifle? Like...what its parts are, how to reload, and all that bullshit stuff you drilled into my head before letting me even hold a rifle."

"The only reason I did that to you was because I knew you were gonna shoot somebody in the face if I didn't teach you those things...and even when I did, you almost blew my guts off..."

Nick's face turned to one of rage as Clementine looked at him worriedly. "A-are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm fucking o-" Nick spat out, but immediately put his hand over his mouth and slumped. "Sorry kid...don't know why I said that."

"I-it's okay..."

Pete shook his head and sighed. Lee stared at Pete as he realized how much Pete wanted to comfort Nick, but something was holding him back. He should maybe talk about that with him later.

"She doesn't need to learn how to use a rifle Pete," Lee gently said. "Unless you want to Clementine. It's totally up to you. If you're learning it from an experienced person like Pete, well I know he'll take care of you."

"I eventually want to learn how to shoot it, but I don't want to learn about all that stuff," Clementine replied. "I'm not in school anymore."

"Well, it doesn't matter if you're in school or not. Always being willing to learn is important," Lee said.

"So, I'm assuming you were one of the kids who loved school and loved to learn? Pete asked.

"Well, I used to be a professor at the University of Georgia. I taught history," Lee explained.

"Wow, that must have been a really stressful job," Pete whistled.

"It was stressful, but I also found joy in it, which reminds me...Clementine."

"Yeah Lee?" Clementine asked.

"Do you remember what we talked about at Crawford?" Lee asked, instantly having memories of that dreadful place.

Clementine stared at Lee in confusion.

"You said that you missed school," Lee gave a hint.

"Um, not anymore..."

Lee chuckled. "I promised that once things went back to normal, we'd set up a classroom where I'd teach you. That ring a bell?"

"Oh yeah!" Clementine nodded as she remembered the interaction. "And then I asked if there will be homework and you said no...but things aren't normal though."

"No pressure. Only if you want to."

"What is even the point?" Nick asked. "She doesn't have to go to school anymore. None of this is important now."

"Yeah, I know, but it's just what we talked about," Lee sighed. "I still can't believe how far we've come here. We've watched many people die and just get lost, but somehow, our relationship has never broken. I wonder if it is just fate that's holding us together."

"I don't believe in any of that stuff," Pete gave his own two cents, "I just think you both are hella tough and you trust each other. Trust is so hard to find nowadays with all this crap that's going around."

"I...wanted to drop a hammer on his head once," Clementine confessed.

"Excuse me missy?" Pete asked, really confused.

Lee laughed. "She sure did. I'm glad she didn't though. This was when I first met her. Didn't know anything about her. I just came in to her house seeking help, when all this mess happened."

"Ah, that would make sense," Pete nodded, watching Clementine and Lee smile at each other. "So...you still up to learn about this rifle here or are you gonna stare at each other all day?"

Clementine threw him a glare.

"Now, now. No need to look at me like that," Pete gave a hearty chuckle.

"Are we out to hunt for some animals out here?" Lee asked.

"If you want, but we don't necessarily have too. I just asked you to come out here so you can get familiar with this area," Pete shrugged. "We already have some meat for today and possibly tomorrow. Game's getting harder and harder to get. Damn walkers sometimes get to them first."

"Right...they'd eat anything," Lee winced.

"Now, those guys are the definition of not being picky...they'd eat anything," Nick shook his head. "Those dirty bastards."

"I sometimes wonder how all of this works," Lee admitted. "What happens during the infection and what possess' them to crave flesh?"

"Maybe you'd like to find out?" Pete asked.

"Um, I'd rather not."

"Yeah, he'd rather be alive and not one of them," Clementine crossed her arms.

"I hear ya kid," Pete chuckled. "Nothing much to do here unless Lee wants to try out this rifle. You want to give this baby a go?"

"I can try," Lee shrugged as he took the rifle from Pete.

Lee used his left hand to form a V under the rifle as he held the rifle steady. He put the butt of the rifle firmly on his right shoulder as he gripped the edge tightly with his right hand. He aimed at the log and looked into the scope. Holding his breath, he fired.

 _Bang!_

Clementine blinked as the bullet lodged right at the heart of the log.

Pete whistled. "You're a good shot, boy, you know that?"

"I uh..." Lee rubbed his head.

"Doesn't it hurt?" Clementine asked.

"Not if you grip it properly. Don't worry Clementine, for your first shot, it wasn't too bad."

"Well, it was pretty terrible actually," Nick chuckled. "You should've seen the look on your face."

"Yeah? Like you did any better," Clementine scoffed.

"Clem..." Lee sternly said.

"She's a tough one," Pete cracked a grin. "All right, I think we've had enough for today. Why don't we head back? If you want to learn the basics of a rifle, just come speak to me."

"Well, I think I want to learn how to use it now," Clementine crossed her arms. "I want to be better than how he was when he first started."

Instead of being annoyed, Nick grinned, which shocked Pete. "Well good luck with that. We'll see who's laughing when you give up."

"I don't think I will," she said, smirking. He wanted a challenge, she'd give it to him.

"Nick...you okay there, son?" Pete asked.

Nick looked at him curiously. "Yeah, I am...why?"

"Oh nothing," Pete sighed as they headed back.

"You know...today was actually not bad," Clementine smiled. "I might actually look forward to this."

"You did great kid. You had the balls to even fire that rifle. You're a tough cookie, aren't you?" Pete asked.

"She sure is," Nick grinned. "You did good kid."

Clementine couldn't help but to smile and feel proud. Lee put his hand on her shoulder.

They soon entered the house as they saw Carlos and Alvin playing chess together. Rebecca was watching on the sofa, resting while Luke was nowhere to be found.

"We're back you all," Pete said as he put the rifle back at the storage room.

"How was it?" Alvin asked them. "Did you catch anything?"

"Nah, not today," Pete replied. "Clementine tried to shoot this rifle. Knocked her right on her ass."

"Oh my goodness, you did not just have a little girl shoot that thing," Rebecca frowned at Pete.

"Little? C'mon Becc. This girl carried through with a nasty dog bite. She's seen and done things no girl age should have. I highly doubt her using a rifle is something out of the ordinary."

"Still...that was very unsafe for her. She could have died."

"But she didn't. Why do you care so much of her anyways?" Pete asked. "I thought you didn't trust both of them."

Rebecca crossed her arms and gave Pete a glare. "I still don't trust them, but I still care for her well being, you know. What? Do you think I'm pissy like this all the time."

Pete bit back a reply. He didn't want to hear her rant.

"Hon, you'll have to trust them eventually," Alvin gently coaxed.

"Checkmate Alvin. You lose again," Carlos said.

Lee looked at the chess board and saw that it was a full blown massacre.

"Damn Carlos...you were always good at this game," Alvin unhappily sighed. "Out of everyone...I just can't seem to beat Carlos."

"You need to have patience Alvin," Carlos explained. "You sometimes rush too much. You had plenty of opportunities to take my queen out, yet you were so focused on defending your king."

"Well, without the king, I would have been screwed," Alvin chuckled.

"You weren't in that situation. It all went downhill for you when I took your queen. Clementine, have you ever played chess before?" Carlos asked.

"No...what is that?" Clementine replied, confused.

Carlos' eyes twinkled. "What we are playing now. I can teach you how to play if you'd like. Nothing much to do here."

"I...um, I guess."

"No pressure."

Alvin stood up and motioned for Clementine to sit as she did.

"Lee, do you mind helping me prepare the meat for lunch? It should take a while, but with your help, we can speed up the process a bit," Pete said.

"Yeah, no problem."

"Appreciate it."

While Lee went to leave with Pete, Carlos turned to Clementine and explained the basics of this game. "In this game, the point is to knock out the king. There are six types of chess pieces here. The most common one is the pawn, which has a round head like this. They take up the second row. They are basically minions that protect your valuable pieces in the back."

Carlos arranged his white pawns as Clementine followed with her black pawns.

"Next, you have the rook, which looks like a castle," Carlos continued, "They go at each end behind the pawn. You don't place the two pieces next to each other. You place them in opposite corners, on your side of the board. Next to the rook is the knight, which are the horse pieces, so place that there. Good. Then, you have the bishops which go next to the knight. The queen is placed right next to the king."

"This looks really complicated," Clementine said. "I don't know how I can learn this."

"Everything is complicated the first time, but with practice, you'll soon learn. Trust me, it will be fun," Carlos replied. "Next, it is important to know how the pieces move and how they work. First, let's talk about the pawn. Remember what the pawn is?"

"Yeah...the dudes on the front."

Carlos chuckled. "Pawns are exactly what their names imply. They must do everything to protect the forces in the back. This game requires strategy and patience. Remember, patience is very important. It's one of the reasons Alvin keeps losing to me."

"You can't blame me for that, doc. You take a long time trying to move your pieces," Alvin crossed his arms.

"All part of the strategy," Carlos replied. "Anyways, the pawns can only move forward. If they are in their starting position, which is the second row from the back, then they can move forward two spaces. But, they can only move one. If you want to take a piece with your pawn, you can only take them diagonally once."

"Two spaces forward in starting position and once space forward for all other moves. Got it." Clementine repeated. "But, what do you mean take a piece?"

"The main goal of this game is to take the king. Once you lose the king, it will be all over," Carlos explained. "Taking the other pieces can also help, because it removes your opponents defense."

"Can't you just go for the king and ignore everything else?" Clementine asked.

"Think of it like this..." Carlos began. "If you want to kill a king, you don't just go blindly charging in and target only the king. The king has many guards by his side. No, you want to pick off the guards and weaken the defense of the king. Remember, your opponent wants to take your king also and you do not want that. You must use each pieces wisely and make sure they don't get taken in vain. You also must see if a sacrifice is worth it. If you had a chance to take a queen, but lose your pawn, you'd want to definitely take that opportunity. I'll teach you as we go along with it, don't worry."

Clementine tried to take in everything he was saying, but it was pretty hard for her. She inwardly grumbled. This game was going to be very fun.

"Anyways, the next piece is the rook, which can move unlimited spaces forwards, backwards, to the left, and to the right."

"That's pretty powerful," Clementine said. "I definitely don't want to lose those."

"You sure don't." Carlos agreed.

"So, I can use my rook here to take your pawn and your rook?" Clementine asked. "That would mean I'd have to sacrifice my pawn also..."

"Your pawn is blocking your rook," Carlos said. "You can only move to a free space. You can not bypass any pieces. Let's say you didn't have your pawn here."

Carlos took Clementine's pawn that was in front of her rook.

"Hey, you can't do that," Clementine frowned. "That's cheating!"

Alvin chuckled. "Is that how you beat me all the time? By cheating?"

"Don't be silly Alvin," Carlos rolled his eyes. "Clementine, this is for demonstration purposes. So, with your pawn gone, you can take my pawn that is in front of the rook, because there is nothing in the way. But, that is not a wise move. Can you guess why?"

Clementine stared at the board. She couldn't help, but wonder why it wasn't a wise move. She could take his piece! Clementine was not a stupid girl, so she soon figured out what this sacrifice was not worth making. "Because...if I took your pawn, then your rook can take my rook. A rook is more valuable than a pawn..."

"Nice work!" Carlos gave a sweet smile. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Good going kid. For your first time, it sure is impressive," Alvin nodded.

"It sure is," Rebecca sighed, turning her attention to Pete and Lee, who were busy squeezing blood out of the meat.

"The one next to the rook is the knight which can be a bit tricky to understand at first," Carlos said. "The knight can move only at an L shape. Basically, he can move two space vertical and one space horizontal or two space horizontal and one space vertical."

Carlos gave a demonstration as he showed Clementine all the possible moves a knight can make.

"Interesting piece," Clementine replied, studying the board.

"Yes. It is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. Besides the pawns, the knight is the only back line defense that can bypass the pawns. Though you can't move your piece on top of another. Next to the knight is the bishop. They can only move diagonally, any spaces, unless it is not blocked. So basically it's the opposite of a knight. The bishop moves at an X and the rook moves at a cross shape."

"Got it. Bishops can only move diagonal."

Carlos nodded. "Next, we have the most valuable piece on the board, which is the queen. Obviously the king is the most valuable since if you lose him, you die, but in terms of game changing and power, the queen is the strongest. Unless obstructed by a piece, the queen can move diagonal, horizontal, and vertical. Basically she is the combination of the rook and the bishop."

"Not the knight?"

"Not the knight." Carlos confirmed. "You absolutely do not want to lose her, yet you absolutely want to take her out of the enemy team. Finally, we have the king. The king can only move one space, but in any direction."

"Wow...very powerful," Clementine sarcastically said.

"How observant of you," Carlos said. "The king possess' many powers and is considered to be the greatest in a kingdom, yet it can do so little. Ready to play a round Clementine?"

"I'm going to lose...bad," she gave a sigh.

"Well, you can play against Alvin then," Carlos smiled. "I can help you. I won't be telling you what to do, but I will tell you if I have a problem with what move you are about to make."

"Let's do this then," Alvin grinned as he sat on the other side.

The game began with Alvin moving the fourth pawn two pieces up. Clementine did the same.

In the beginning portion of the game, Clementine mirrored the moves Alvin had done.

"Are you copying me Clementine?" Alvin asked jokingly.

She shrugged, but then smirked. "I dunno."

Alvin chuckled. "If I were you, I'd move my queen near my pawn here so you can easily break through my defenses."

Clementine looked at the board where Alvin wanted her to move her queen. It seemed like nothing could touch her queen if she moved it to the place Alvin wanted. The pawns were unable to attack, his bishops were blocked in my his other pieces, his rook was not at the right place, and his queen also was blocked in."

"Well, thank you for letting me win," Clementine said as she prepared to make the move.

"Clem," Carlos cleared his throat. "Do not do that. You are forgetting a piece. There is a piece that can take your queen."

Clementine looked at the board. "Um...I don't see any...the knight!"

Realization dawned on her. The knight indeed was at a position to nab the queen.

"You thought you could trick me, huh?" Clementine asked as she refused to move her queen to the death trap.

"It was worth a try," Alvin sighed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Check," Alvin smiled as he moved his rook three spots away from the king.

"Your king is in danger Clem," Carlos said. "Get him to safety."

Clementine moved the king away from the line of fire. Although Carlos said that he would help her, he didn't do much, because he wanted her first time to be about making her choices. Clementine has lost her rooks, a bishop, a knight, and a queen, as well as many pawns while Alvin only lost a rook, a bishop, and two knights.

"Check again," Alvin said as he moved the rook one space where the king had moved.

As Clementine kept on trying to avoid the rook, Alvin kept on following what Clementine did, leaving them at a never ending stalemate.

"Lay off her Alvin," Carlos said.

"Looks I win then," Alvin smiled.

"Please, I can do this all day," Clementine replied. "But...I don't want to. Yeah, whatever. You win."

"This was not bad for your first time Clementine," Carlos encouraged. "There were some mistakes you made, but who doesn't make mistakes? Keep practicing and you will get better, I can promise you that. Now, to get better, you must play with a tough opponent. Your next opponent is me."

"Aren't you being cruel to the girl?" Rebecca asked, enjoying what she saw. She wouldn't admit it to them, but she hoped she would be able to bond with her child like Clementine was.

"This is not being cruel Rebecca. This is how you learn," Carlos said. "Anyways, let's go."

They played a total of five matches and Carlos won against her all five times. He was merciless to her.

* * *

 **Match 1**

"Do not rush it Clementine," Carlos said. "You need to think about what you are going to do before you do it. You were so focused on attacking, that you did not leave much to defend your king."

* * *

 **Match 2**

"Take as long as you need. Do not only think about what move you are going to make, but think about what move I am going to make also. It's important to read your opponents."

* * *

 **Match 3**

"Pawns are important pieces too. If you think you can sacrifice them so easily, then you are going to have a problem. Treat each piece with respect. Although pawns are just meant to defend your interior line of defense, you can make smart moves with them."

* * *

 **Match 4**

"I know you are tempted to bring the queen in to wreak havoc on my pieces, but you should not rely solely on her. Do not use the queen so early in the game. Always have escort for your queen. If she falls, the chance of the game being over is greater."

* * *

 **Match 5**

"Clem, remember to utilize all your pieces. You haven't moved your bishop even once. You want to use all the pieces strategically, don't neglect any of them."

After the fifth straight loss, Clementine felt a bit frustrated.

"This game is too hard," Clementine grumbled as she got up to stretch. "Man..."

"It just takes practice Clem. Do you think I was good at the beginning? No, I had to mess up many times to get better," Carlos explained.

"I think you were born with the gift," she said.

"Really?" Alvin chuckled. "A gift of being good at chess? Nonsense, everything takes effort you know."

"That's right," Carlos agreed. "Even becoming a doctor took a lot of work from me. If I hadn't studied and tried hard, there would have been no way I would have made it like this."

"None of that matters though with all the walkers here," Clementine crossed her arms.

"Not giving up actually matters a lot, believe it or not. If you gave up easily, you'd be overwhelmed by what is happening right now. Listen Clem, I've seen many people end their lives because it was too much for them, but that is wrong. You should not give up so easily, even with all this...unfortunate circumstance."

"I'm sure you wouldn't have gotten this far if you had given, but you're still here, alive, so that says a lot," Rebecca chipped in.

Clementine stared at Rebecca.

"What are you staring at me for?"

Clementine cocked her head. "Nothing...thank you."

Rebecca stared back and nodded.

"All right everyone. We have some meat prepared for you all," came Pete's voice. "Sit around the table everyone."

"Great, I'm starving," Alvin smiled as he made his way over.

"When are you not hungry?" Rebecca asked him.

"Ouch," Clementine said to herself.

"Sarah, Luke, come down. Lunch is being served!" Carlos spoke loudly as they heard the sounds of the doors opening.

Luke was the first one to come down eagerly. "Smells good. Can't wait. Hey Clem, hey Lee, how did it go?"

"I got beaten by Carlos at chess," Clementine told him.

"Oh, that's okay. He's a great chess player," Luke replied.

"Five times..."

"Oh...well...at least you tried."

"She's learning well," Carlos said. "She just needs practice and experience, and soon, she'll become familiar with the game."

"Since when were you interested in chess Clem?" Lee asked.

"Since...like an hour ago."

"You do realize it's been two and a half hours, right?" Lee questioned, looking at his watch.

Clementine was wide eyed. "Really? Wow...time sure flew by."

"That's one of the advantages of playing chess. It kills time really quickly, and it develops your brain also. You begin to think critically," Carlos smiled. "And that is healthy for anyone. Lee, do you know how to play chess?"

"I uh...I know how to play, but I'm not good at it," Lee admitted.

"As long as you know how to play chess, that should be good enough. Why don't you play chess with Clementine after?" Carlos suggested.

"I don't know," Lee responded. "Aren't you sick and tired of it Clementine?"

"Well, I'm sick of losing. If I won a game for a change, things might be different," she replied.

"Oh, when I play you, don't think I'm going to let you win. I'm pretty competitive when it comes to games like this," Lee gave a smile.

Clementine smirked. "I guess I have another challenge to go through."

"Another challenge?" Luke asked. "Um, what do you mean about that?"

"She thinks she could shoot a rifle better with me," Nick gave a smirk.

"Um, didn't you gut shot-" Luke began, but Nick glared at him. "Okay, okay..."

They heard a flurry of footsteps as they looked to see Sarah run down. "Sorry I'm late dad, I just had an interesting book I was reading and...um..."

She stared at Clementine as Clementine looked back at her curiously.

"...Hello."

Sarah did not say anything. "You're Clementine, right?"

"Yeah..."

Immediately Sarah turned very happy and began ranting. "That's a beautiful name Clementine! I've haven't seen a girl my age for a long time! We could be friends, right? I always wanted to be friends with a girl my age."

After hearing that statement, Clementine felt a twinge of pity. Did that mean she didn't have any friends?

"Easy Sarah. Relax," Carlos sternly, yet gently said. "We're all eating lunch, so please sit down."

"Okay dad. Can I sit next to Clementine please?" she asked.

"Clementine?" Carlos asked.

Clementine stared at Sarah. "Yeah, okay. No problem."

"Great," Sarah grinned as she plopped next to her. "You know, the book I was reading is so fun. All the mystery that goes through that book...it's crazy how a story can suck you in like that and when you-"

"Sarah, please," Carlos once more said. "Lay off of Clementine."

"Yes dad," she sighed, looking glum.

Clementine looked nervous being next to her, but immediately got rid of that look.

"Isn't this meat cooked perfectly?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, it smells very good," Rebecca nodded.

"Thanks to Lee here. He sure knows how to make a meat look and taste good," Pete grinned.

"It was nothing Pete, really," Lee admitted.

"Modesty ain't gettin' you anywhere, son."

"It feels like it has been ages since I've had barbecue," Luke gave a smile as he took a piece.

Clementine stared at him as an unpleasant feeling coursed through her. Barbecue...instantly she was taken back to the St. John's farm where she almost ate Mark's legs. The 'meat' had smelled good and it looked good, but...

Clementine retched as she covered her mouth as everyone stared at her in concern or in worry.

"Woah Clementine, are you okay?" Lee asked.

Clementine shook her head as she pushed her plate away. "I'm not feeling hungry."

"What's wrong Clementine?" Carlos asked, standing up, "Is something the matter?"

"When Luke said barbecue, that brought me back to when Lee and I were at the farm. One of the guys said that were were eating barbecue, when it was someone's leg, so that thought made me..urgh..."

Rebecca cringed and pushed away her plate. "Are you serious now? You've killed my appetite also."

"Easy there Becc," Alvin comforted.

Lee stared uncomfortably at his plate while Sarah didn't give a care in the world about what was happening, gorging down the meat.

"I think my breakfast is coming up," Clementine winced, holding her stomach.

"Oh, you better not puke!" Rebecca warned. "I don't want anything happening to any of us."

"Bathroom!" Lee's eyes widened. "Clementine, go!"

She wanted to run up to the bathroom, but she knew she wouldn't make it. She felt bile rapidly rise from her stomach. She shook her head as she made a beeline for the sink.

"BLEEEHHH!" she released the contents to the sink as everyone immediately cringed and looked away.

Lee immediately rushed over to Clementine and began gently patting her back.

"It's okay. Let it out...let it all out," Lee tried his damnedest to reassure her and be there for her.

"BLEEEEEEEH!"

"I'll get some water ready for her after she's done. She'll be losing a lot of water," Carlos looked on.

"Um, is Clementine okay dad?" Sarah asked, concerned.

"Yes she is, don't worry."

"Hey, at least it could've turned out worse for her," Nick shrugged. Luke shot Nick a glare.

Lee looked at Clementine who was still leaned over the sink. He was glad to be there for her and to help her.

"It'll be alright Clementine," Lee reassured. "It'll be all right sweet pea. I'm here for you. I'm here for you, don't worry."

"Urgh...thanks," she finally sighed, finishing up.


	6. Stranded

**Hey guys. Enjoy another chapter. Remember also that some courses of history will be changed with some people who died in the game will survive, while others may not make it. I'll try to make it as realistic as possible though. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Stranded**

A few days passed by smoothly with not much activity going on. As Pete had stated, there had been minimum lurker activities near the house as Clementine and Lee had slowly grown accustomed to where they were. Trust had strengthened between Clementine and Lee and the members in the house. Although Rebecca was still a bit cautious, she found herself slowly warming up to them. She knew she had been too tough with these two, but didn't have the heart to apologize, yet.

"Ready to head out guys?" Pete asked, grabbing his rifle.

"Yeah," Clementine nodded, holding a pistol.

Nick and Lee also had rifles strapped to their backs as they prepared to go out and actually hunt some game. It had gone well for them, and they did not expect anything out of the ordinary to happen.

"Let's do this," Lee agreed.

"Stay safe, you hear me?" Carlos asked them. "I want you all to return safely."

"Relax Carlos. We've been doing this for a while and we always return in one piece," Pete replied.

"Still...take all possible care of yourselves. Anything can happen."

"We appreciate your concern," Lee smiled. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to us."

Pete, Lee, and Clementine headed outside.

"Uncle Pete, give me a minute!" Nick said.

"You know where the river is boy...we ain't waiting for you. You better hurry up," Pete stared down Nick. "Let's go."

Lee left with Pete as Clementine spared Lee a glance. She looked back at Nick and found him pretty angry. Clementine felt very bad as she walked over to Nick.

"You didn't have to do that, kid. I know my way to the river. You can go ahead," Nick said.

"I don't think I'll do that," Clementine replied. "I'll wait for you. Hurry up, we'll go together, okay?"

"You're a sweet kid," Nick muttered as he hurriedly got ready.

"She sure is," Alvin sighed. "Wish more of us were kind like her."

"Are you trying to make a point Alvin?" Rebecca asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it dear," Alvin chuckled. "I didn't mean nothing by it."

"You're already in hot water with me Alvie. I wouldn't push it." Rebecca gave Alvin a glare and walked off.

Alvin shook his head and sighed.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go. We have to go fast to catch up with them." Nick said and looked at her. Clementine nodded as the headed to the river to meet with Lee and Pete.

While Clementine and Nick raced to the river, Pete and Lee were already halfway there.

"Don't you think you're being too hard on the kid?" Lee asked. "I mean...I believe Nick genuinely feels hurt about how you're treating him..."

Pete just sighed as he stared into the clearing. "Sometimes...you gotta play a role...even if it means people hate you for it..."

"Why do you say that?" Lee lightly pressed.

"Let me tell you a story about Nick," Pete replied. "When he was around Clementine's age...I taught him how to shoot a rifle. We come across this beautiful 13 point buck standing on this ridgeline. The boy takes the rifle...lines up the shot like I taught him too...then I hear him start whining. He turns to me and says, "I can't do it! I can't do it Uncle Pete! Please don't make me shoot it!""

"Man...poor kid," Lee shook his head.

"I had properly trained that boy and he was excited to catch his first prey," Pete said. "He was looking forward to it, but he chickened out in the end."

Lee could only look surprised. "Wow."

"Hey!"

"Lee!"

Pete and Lee turned to see Clementine and Nick racing towards them.

"Here they come," Pete said.

"Hey there Clem," Lee smiled. "Glad you caught up with us safely."

"Isn't this the part where you tell me why I didn't stay close to you?" Clementine asked, raising her eyebrows.

Lee chuckled. "Not in this situation. You're old enough to make your own choices and you weren't doing anything that would have put you in danger."

"Lurkers could have ambushed us," Nick shrugged. "Isn't that the point of our lives now? To avoid being bitten and turned into one of them?"

"Don't think of me as an irresponsible guardian, but I know Clementine is capable of dealing with walkers," Lee retorted. "She's dealt with many."

"Good point. So, what were you doing?"

Pete and Lee shared a look. "Mind your own business, son."

Pete began walking next to Lee as Clementine followed. Nick hung out in the back.

"Anyways, I go to grab the gun out of his hand before this big buck runs off when BANG!" Pete continued with his story. "The gun fires...this boy nearly gut shots me, and of course the buck gets away."

Nick's eyes widened as he looked at Lee and Pete in disbelief. Clementine looked at Nick and wanted to laugh at his expression, but she knew it wasn't appropriate.

"What are you talking about?" Clementine asked Pete.

"Just Nick's first hunting story," Pete replied. "Where he chickened out right as he was about to shoot the damn buck."

"Now, why the hell you tellin' them this for?!" Nick growled in outrage.

"Because, you almost blew their faces off a few days ago...seems appropriate."

"I already apologized and they accepted!"

"I don't care son...they need to know that it's not personal with you."

"You always fucking embarrass me," Nick growled. "I'm sick and tired of this shit."

"Well, you do that well on your own," Pete countered as Nick brushed past Pete. "Leaving us again, are you?"

"I know my damn way to the river," his voice trailed out as he took off without them.

Clementine wanted to go after him, but she decided to stay with Lee.

"That kid..." Pete shook his head. "What I said to him like that may seem like I hate him, but that's not true. You see, Nick had a father who was very ill mannered and had a hot temper like that kid. Didn't teach him and love him like a real father should have. I took it upon myself to instill respect and discipline. The things he sometimes does is inappropriate and rash, just like his father. I was telling Lee that, Clementine. Sometimes, you have to play a role, even if you know they may hate you. Did Lee ever do something to you that made you mad at him, but realized that he was doing it for your own good?"

Clementine thought. "Yes actually...many times. My parents..."

"Clementine, don't go back to that," Lee told her. "Remember...it would have been not right if you didn't want to look for your parents. Grasping the fact that you parents may not be alive anymore...that's really hard, and it'd take hard proof to believe that. Even then...you may not always want too."

"But still...that's one thing," she whispered.

"You need to stop looking at the past. What matters is what's going on right now."

"That's just a habit of mine," Clementine confessed. "You have to look at the past to understand what mistake to not make again.

"Fair point. It's okay Clementine, really," Lee reassured her. "Enough of that. Quit bringing yourself down."

"UNCLE PETE!" they suddenly heard Nick's yell.

"Nick!" Pete replied. "Guys let's go!"

Clementine immediately rushed towards Nick's aid while the two men hurriedly followed. They found Nick at a river, staring at something that curiously looked like a dead body on the floor. No scratch that...numerous bodies on the floor.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Pete's eyes widened as he surveyed the scene.

"It's a massacre," Lee also said as he squinted. "Those bodies look familiar..."

"Do they now?" Pete asked as he examined one body filled with holes. Pete tapped them with the rifle, making sure they were dead. "They are full of bullet holes..."

"Who could have done this?" Nick asked. "Someone has to go tell this to the group, now!"

"We can't yet," Pete shook his head. "We need to check these bodies first. Nick, go over there and check and I'll check here. Lee, if you can get the far side, that'd be great. Be careful...some of them might still be moving."

As they split up, Clementine immediately tagged along next to Lee.

"Don't these people seem familiar to you?" Lee asked. "I swear...I've seen them somewhere."

"Yeah, me too," Clementine replied. Who were they? She knew these people from somewhere. She hated not knowing when she had a hunch. "What do you think happened Lee?"

"I don't see why anyone would want to shoot them down like this, unless they are bandits...or they were raided by bandits," Lee said.

Their eyes rested on an out of place pallet that was overturned.

"What the heck is this doing here?" Clementine asked, confused.

"I can ask the same thing," Lee shook his head. "Be on your guard Clem...they may still be out there."

"Right."

They came upon a bald man whose face was splattered with blood with a huge hole on his head.

"Jesus..." Lee breathed out as he checked out the wound. "This was definitely no walker."

"This one's dead too!" Clementine called out. "Shot in the head."

"In the head?" Pete asked. "Search more bodies. Look for some ammo also. We're running low."

Lee saw a body on its side across the river. He assumed the man was dead, but he saw his sides lightly quivering as his eyes widened. "There's one across the river! I think he's alive. I'll go check him out."

Clementine was about to go with Lee, but he put his hands up.

"Clem, I'll go alone for this one. Stay with Pete and Nick. It is much more safer," Lee said.

"Lee, I'm coming with you..."

"It's too dangerous Clem."

"He's right. Stay with us kid and help us check that body over there," Pete said.

Clementine looked at Lee worriedly.

"It'll be alright Clem," Lee smiled. "I promise."

Clementine sighed, but relented. "Come back safe."

"Anything for you."

Lee headed across the river to search the body, as he readied his pistol.

"This wasn't no rinky-dink pissing match," Pete stated.

"What was it then?" Nick asked.

"FUBAR..."

"What's a fubar?" Clementine asked.

"..."

Nick and Pete stayed silent as Clementine crossed her arms. "Well?"

"We should get out of here now," Nick said, cutting of Clementine as she grew annoyed.

"We need to wait until Lee checks that body, and there are still more bodies out there we have to check," Pete replied.

"What? Why?" Nick asked in disbelief.

"Because we're not going to leave Lee behind," Clementine firmly said, glaring at Nick.

"Aw hell, I didn't mean it like that," Nick replied. "Of course we're going to wait for Lee, but I'm asking why we have to check the other bodies..."

"Calm down and think about it, son!" Pete gave an exasperated sigh. "If one of em's still alive, we can ask about who did this!"

"This is stupid! This is a stupid idea! I ain't searching anymore of these bodies."

"You know Nick, I don't like this either," Pete scowled, his frustration with the boy growing, "But sooner or later, you're going to have to realize the cold hard truth."

"What, that you're an asshole?"

"That nobody in this world is ever gonna give a goddamn whether you like something or not," Pete replied. "You gotta grow up, son."

Nick grit his teeth, but didn't argue back. "Whatever."

"Lee, how's it going there?" Pete asked.

"WOAH!" they heard Lee gasp.

"Lee?!" Clementine asked, immediately trying to get to him, but she was stopped by the river.

"Clem! Stay there! It's okay!" Lee reassured. "This man's still alive!"

Lee turned to the man with the curly hair. Right next to him was Clementine's backpack. It suddenly dawned on Lee who he was.

"You motherfucker," Lee's eyes grew wide. "You were the one who attacked us. Where the hell is Christa?! What the fuck did you do with her?!"

"P-please," the man stuttered, a few moments away from death. "He-help..."

He weakly pointed his hand at the water bottle inside Clementine's backpack.

Lee was still filled with rage as he looked at the water and at the man. "Where is Christa?! Who the fuck did this to you?"

The man just stared at Lee not doing anything as Lee had it with him. He rose up with Clementine's backpack and walked away from him as the man weakly tried to speak, but no words could come out. Lee shook his head and walked away.

"Everything okay there Lee?" he heard Pete ask.

"My backpack!" Clementine gasped. "Lee, where did you find it?"

"It was next to this guy over here," Lee scowled. "I recognize them now! They were the bandits that attacked Clementine and I. We lost Christa and Omid that way!"

"It's them?" Clementine asked in shock as Lee nodded. "Lee, come back. It's not safe over there!"

"I'm coming Clem. Just give me a minute," Lee caught his breath, trying to release his anger.

"No! Lee, behind you!"

Lee turned back to see a walker lunge at him. Lee's eyes widened in shock as the walker lunged at him, taking him down. He saw the walker's mouth nearing his legs, trying to take a bite. He felt a little pressure as the thought of being bitten raced in his mind. He yelled in pain.

"Lee! NO!" Clementine yelled. "NOOO!"

She immediately tried to race to him across the river, but Nick held her back.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Clementine yelled as pure anguish coursed through her. Lee wasn't bit! He wasn't!

Pete immediately aimed the rifle at the walkers head as he fired. The bullet dug through the walker's head as the walker fell on top of Lee. With his strength, he pushed the walker off of him. He shakily rose up when he felt pain flare up his ankle.

"Agh!" he grunted as he looked at Clementine who had tears flowing freely.

Nick was wide eyed as was Pete as they stared at the blood on his ankles. Fear gripped Lee as he refused to check why he was in pain.

"Lee, can you walk over here?" Pete asked, still stunned. "You're not bit are you?"

Lee was about to respond when he heard growls. He saw walkers about to box him in. He knew if he wanted to survive, he had to get away, now. It was too dangerous to cross the river as he had to head in to the forest, opposite of where his darling Clementine was.

"I have to get out of here," Lee told them. "Go! Get Clementine to safety! I'll try to find someplace safe..."

"Lee...no! I'm coming with you," Clementine yelled, her cries turning in to begging. Normally she wasn't like this, but after watching Lee being bit, she knew that she had to be with him. "Let me come with you!"

"No time sweet pea," Lee looked over at her and the walkers closing on. "Pete, Nick, I trust you will take care of her?"

"Don't be crazy, son!" Pete growled. "We'll come to find you. Find safety, alright? I swear, for that girl, you be safe."

"He's bit!" Clementine cried, "He's biiiit! Lee!"

Clementine saw Lee yell in pain. He saw the blood. She wasn't delusional anymore...she knew if he had been bit or not.

 _"But you didn't see the walker take a bite...who knows. Maybe he wasn't_ _bit,_ " a side of her tried to convince her.

"Clementine, in case I don't come back...know that...I-I...I love you."

Staring at her once more, Lee turned and rushed off into the forest while Clementine wailed for Lee.

"Lee! No! Let me go!" she snarled, trying to escape Nick's grasp.

"Quick, we have to head back and get everyone," Pete said. "We simply don't have enough ammunition and manpower to find Lee. Clem, it's going to be okay."

Clementine did not say anything as she dried a few stray tears.

 _I love you..._ The words Lee had told her rang in her head.

"I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye," she shook her head, fighting back the tears with all her might. "I can't lose him...again."

"He's a tough man...he'll survive," Pete tried to reassure Clementine.

"He got bit! What part of that don't you understand?!" Clementine yelled.

Nick's eyes widened, nervous that Pete might blow up because of the disrespect, but Pete knew what she was going through. "Think on the bright side. Maybe he wasn't bit."

"I heard him yell in pain and there was blood on this leg..."

"Could've been the lurker's blood. Look, we can't jump to conclusions unless you have the hard facts. Don't worry Clementine, we'll find him again."

Clementine stopped struggling against Nick's grasp, the adrenaline slowly dying down. She felt very weak. She felt like a part of her had crumbled. She instantly shut down as she heard Nick cursing, steadying her.

...

Lee felt the pain in his ankle flare every time he made a step. The walkers were being drawn to his running and his fear. He wasn't afraid of dying or becoming the walker's dinner. He feared losing Clementine and leaving her alone in this world. His bond with her was stronger than it had ever been, watching her grow from an eight year old to an eleven year old girl. He could think later.

Luckily, Lee found a brown shed right in the clearing. He didn't know how far he had run or where the hell he was. All he could see were trees. Thankfully the walkers weren't as fast as him as he quickly checked inside the shed to see if it was safe. Thankfully he was as he entered and barricaded the door shut.

He knew the door wasn't strong enough to fend off the strength of the walkers. He luckily found a crate that was pretty heavy, and dragged it to the door. He heard the moans of the walkers get louder as he took a step back. They all began pounding on the door, groaning for their prey as Lee prayed the door would hold. Thankfully, the door did, with the crate taking in the brunt of the pressure.

He was finally safe. He let out a heavy sigh and sat down on another wooden crate. Now would be the time to examine himself for any wounds he might have incurred. He held his breath as he could hear is own heart beating as he rolled up his jeans. He quickly examined for any bite and thankfully, he did not find any. He realized that the blood was the blood of the walker that had jumped him. The walker had only managed to bite lightly at his jeans, not piercing his skin.

Immediately, he felt a thousand burdens leave him as he felt peaceful for a quick second.

"Thank goodness," he sighed heavily. "For a second there, I thought I was done for...but why does my ankle hurt so much? I must have sprained it. I'm in no condition to do anything so I should just have a look around and stay here. Hopefully they'll find me. Clementine, I really hope you are okay."

Lee shook his head. Why hope? Clementine was a really tough girl. He knew what she had been through and if there was ever a girl that would survive this mess, it would be her.

He decided to survey this place, to see how he could get back to the house. He looked at a still sitting in the corner as he walked over to it. "Booze huh...I guess if it really comes down to that, but I don't think this'll do me any good right now..."

Lee saw two windows, each on the side of the house. The glass was stained and cobwebs were covering it. Lee really hoped that the walkers wouldn't break through the windows. If they did, he would surely be done for.

He saw cabinets and dust files in the storage, but none of them were any help to him. He needed to escape, but he could not find anything that would help him to escape. Lee thought if he had to stay here until help arrived. He knew he'd starve or die of thirst if he stayed here. Who knew if anyone would even find him.

His eyes wandered and found a crate. Perhaps there was food in there? Feeling hopeful, yet doubting at the same time, Lee opened the crate and he indeed found food. Rotten food.

"Ah curses," Lee shook his head as he closed the crate.

Next to the crate was a shelf. There was plywood covering a section of the shelf as Lee removed it. He found several bottles as he picked one up, examining it. There were no labels, and the bottles were tainted on the outside so he couldn't see the color of the liquid. He opened the cap as the stench of old whiskey filled his nose.

"Ugh," he groaned as he sniffed it, "How long has this been out here?"

Lee was tempted to take a swig of it. After all, he'd be here for a while. He couldn't do anything while the walkers were still in the area.

"To hell with it..." Lee took a swig of the whiskey. It was terrible, but he felt the familiar feeling of relaxation fill him as his breathing slowed.

He found a place to sit down. All he could do was wait as he closed his eyes, feeling tired. Hopefully they'd come looking for him.

...

The door to the house was opened roughly as Carlos, Luke, Alvin, Rebecca, and Sarah were greeted by Clementine, Nick, and Pete.

"Do you mind not slamming the door open?" Rebecca grouched.

"Help!" Clementine immediately said.

"What's wrong? Clem, are you okay?" Luke asked.

"Lee! Lee...he's gone! I have to find him. Please help me find him!"

"Woah, woah, woah. What happened?"

"We found some dead bodies filled with holes," Pete explained. "It was no ordinary shooting. While we were examining their bodies, Lee was attacked by a walker. Something happened to his leg and he ran deeper into the forest to avoid all them bastards."

"Goodness," Alvin's eyes widened. "Well, we have to go search for him!"

"Are you crazy?!" Rebecca asked. "It's too dangerous!"

"We can't just leave him like this!" Luke replied. "We have to look for him. Alvin and I will go with Nick and Pete. The rest of you can stay here."

"Well, this kid thinks Lee got bit," Nick said with a shrug.

They paled.

"He got bitten by a lurker?" Carlos asked, eyes wide. "Then that means..."

"Hey, I never said he did," Nick quickly replied. "I'm just saying that's what the girl believes. He did scream out in pain and clutched his legs, so something might've happened. We're not sure."

"Do you really want to risk it now?" Rebecca asked Alvin and Luke. "He got bit...as much as he was good to us...you know it's a lost cause. This is crazy!"

Clementine stared at her in disbelief.

"Still, we have to look for him. For Clementine's sake," Luke reasoned.

"Lee is...the only family I have left," Clementine said, her voice shaking. "I don't want to lose him...and if I do, I just want to say my goodbyes..."

"I'm turning that girl down," Alvin firmly said to Rebecca. "Grab your guns. We're going to go look for him."

Luke immediately went in the weapons storage as he threw a gun to Alvin and the five all headed out immediately, intending to find Lee. They rushed out as the door closed.

Rebecca turned to Carlos. "If that man goes out there and gets hurt or killed...I swear..."

"Easy Rebecca. I'm sure they will return safely," Carlos reassured.

"Why are we stuck in this mess?" Rebecca asked, burying her head in her hands.

...

"We were separated by the river!" Pete told all of the ones who had rushed out to save Lee. "Once we're there, we can use that as a reference point to track down Lee."

They made it to the river where the bodies were still sprawled. The walkers had gone away somewhere else for now.

Luke and Alvin saw the dead bodies on the ground.

"Who the...who did this?" Luke asked in shock as he approached a lifeless body.

"Easy there boy," Pete told him. "Although we checked most of the bodies, that don't mean one won't come right alive to bite your face off."

Luke backed off from the corpse.

"It's a bloodbath here," Alvin said. "Do you think it was..."

"Yeah, most likely," Pete nodded, looking at Clementine.

She didn't say much as he saw worry and concern etched all over her face. She was looking around for any sign of Lee.

"Relax kid, we'll find him," Nick smiled. "He's a tough sunofagun. I'm sure he'll make it out alive unless he's been bitten. That'd mean..."

"I'd watch my mouth, boy," Pete threw a strong stare. "He was across the river there, and he bolted that-a-way."

"We have our old shed, a cabin, and a mini-house all in that direction. He could have ran into any of those..." Luke said, surveying the trees in the distance. "Since the cabin is the closest, we can check there and go down the list."

"Do we split up or go together?" Alvin asked.

"I say we split up to cover more ground," Luke suggested.

"If we split up, we may not see each other again. I say we go together. Yes, it will take longer, but we can make sure that no one has to die," Pete gave his opinion. "Clementine, how do you propose we do this?"

Clementine stared at the floor. "Whatever helps us find Lee faster..."

"Listen, I know you want to find Lee, but we have to think about the safety of us also."

"You asked me how I wanted to do this..." Clementine crossed her arms.

"Yes, but you are letting your emotions get to you. You need to think about yourself as well as us also."

Clementine stared sadly at the floor.

"Hey, chin up. In no way are we going to take our sweet time gettin' to him, I can promise ya that. I didn't mean to make ya feel bad. I know how close you are with Lee. We'll find him."

Clementine looked up at him and gave a small smile.

"So, a group it is?"

Everyone seemed happy with that as they headed towards the old cabin.

"Everyone have your eyes and ears wide open and yer asses covered. Let's go!"

Pete led the way as they all had their guns ready.

"Clementine, you stay in the middle of us," Alvin said.

Alvin and Pete led the way with Luke and Nick flanking in the back. They were mostly silent as the sound of their footsteps echoed throughout. Soon, they come across a rusty cabin without any signs of walkers.

"Lee!" Clementine rushed in the cabin, opening the door.

"Clem, NO!" Luke yelled.

"AGH!" Clementine yelled as a walker burst out, pinning her to the ground.

It tried to take a piece of her as Clementine attempted to push him away. She struggled pretty hard as she felt her strength rapidly slip away.

"Grah!" Nick kicked the walker's head and shoved him off Clementine.

Before anyone could do anything, Clementine whipped out her pistol and fired it straight at the walker's head as it fell to the floor. Blood splattered over Clementine's face as she wiped it off.

She was breathing heavily as all were silent.

"Dude, you just alerted all the walkers nearby," Nick deadpanned.

"Cap it son," Pete warned.

Luke immediately rushed over to help her up. "You don't do that Clementine. I know you're missing Lee, but you can't stupidly charge in like that. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"Lee!" Clementine gasped, immediately looking at the walker, turning him over. "Oh God, please...no..."

"That corpse looks really rotten," Pete said. "It's not Lee, don't worry..."

Clementine let out a breath of relief.

"We should hurry and check in their before the lurkers make their way here," Alvin said as he nervously scanned around.

Nick and Luke drew their weapons and headed in the shed, making sure there were no more lurkers in there. They entered only to find useless items. There were no signs of any human life nor any lurkers.

"All clear...nothing's in here. Lee's either in the mini-house or the shed," Luke said. "The mini-house should be a twenty minute walk northwest. Let's head over there..."

"Come on...precious daylight is burning. I'd rather not be here at the night time when they are most active," Alvin said.

"That's just a myth Alvin...no matter what time of the day it is, lurkers are everywhere," Pete explained.

They headed northwest for the mini-house as Clementine's worry only grew. She shook her head. She knew how tough Lee was. No need to stress herself out over this, but she did not absolutely want to lose Lee. He meant the world to her.

She was not weak or needed him to survive. If Lee died, God forbid, she wouldn't lose the will to live. She knew even without Lee she could make it on her own, but there would be this grief that would tag along with her for eternity. After all, if hadn't been for Lee, she would have died. She thought of the possibilities that could have happened if Lee hadn't saved her. She could've starved to death or die of thirst in the tree house, she could have been killed and eaten at the St. John's farm, there were also many numerous attempts a walker had grabbed her and had Lee not saved her...Clementine shuddered. This was the man who had taken care of her and treated her with love and respect. She didn't want to let that go...she wanted to be with him forever. There was this bond that they had that was unbreakable. Clementine always felt safe and comfortable next to Lee.

Soon, they came upon the mini-house.

Out of instinct, Clementine rushed forward, but Nick grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back. "We're not letting you do that again."

Clementine sighed.

"Don't let Lee jar your thoughts," Luke said. "It's okay to be worried, but letting that worry force you to make rash decisions, that's when it becomes a problem."

Clementine shook her head. Lee wouldn't want that.

"Ok...we have to check in there."

"We were gonna do that child," Pete said as Luke and Nick skirted to the door, guns ready.

They opened the door and entered, immediately aiming their gun. They did not find any walkers. Still, there was no sign of Lee.

"Not here either," Clementine shook her head.

"He must be in the shed then..." Alvin concluded.

"Out of these three places, how did he end up in the shed...that's the furthest from where the river bank is," Nick asked, amazed.

"He must've kept running in an easterly direction," Pete said. "Let's head there now. Hurry, sun is almost down."

They once more began their trek to the shed, where Lee was. Clementine couldn't always help but to think of the time the stranger had kidnapped her...or coaxed her to leave Lee and come to him. She thought that she was doing the right thing, but obvious it wasn't right. It was at that moment, when they had hugged, when Clementine had promised never to leave him, that she truly understood how much of a blessing he was.

Lee could have left her. He did not have to go through all that just to save her. If he had just left, who knew what she would have been doing now. That stranger scared Clementine. There was something about him that really creeped her out. The way he kept on talking to his bag and calling Clementine all these names really unnerved her. She didn't mind when Lee called her 'Sweet Pea' or 'Hon' or 'Sweetie,' but when the stranger called her that, she felt very uncomfortable.

Yet, Lee did not leave her. He came back for her and did not even scold her for doing what she did. She did not deserve Lee and really wanted to make him proud. He was still alive and she was still alive.

Clementine was so buried in her thoughts that she did not realize that the sun had nearly one down. Luke's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"The shed is right over there," Luke said as the old shed came in to view.

"C-can I open the door?" Clementine asked, the prospect of reuniting with Lee exciting her.

"Just stay safe, okay?" Luke asked.

Clementine nodded as she tried to open the door. It wouldn't budge.

"NGH!" she groaned as she pushed harder.

"Lee must've barricaded himself in," Pete said. "There are some windows on the side. Why don't you take a look?"

"None of us are tall enough," Nick rolled his eyes.

"That's why one of you will have to boost her up," Pete replied.

"I'll do it. Clem, check to see if Lee is in there," Luke said as Clementine nodded.

Luke grabbed Clementine's waist and held her up as she peered in the window. She looked around to see some bottles on the floor as well as a slumped person...

"Lee!" Clementine gasped. "I see him. He's in there!"

"Is he alive? What's he doing?" Pete asked.

"He's laying down...he isn't moving!" Clementine replied, growing worried. "We have to open the door!"

"We can't break through the barricade unless we knock down those doors," Nick said. "If we make too much noise, the lurkers that chased Lee here may strike."

"That boy's right," Pete agreed. "We've got to think of a plan."

"Well, it looks like the door is hinged with some screws," Alvin noted out, studying the door. "If we can get the screws off, then, we can easily pull the door apart."

"Anyone have a screwdriver?" Luke asked.

"Don't look at me son, I don't carry them around," Pete shrugged.

"Not me," Clementine shook her head, "Darn it..."

"Wait, I think I may have it," Alvin said as he searched his back pockets. He took out a screwdriver, and it matched the screws perfectly. He began unscrewing the screws as the doors came off.

Luke and Nick grabbed on the door to avoid unnecessary noise as Clementine rushed in, the rest following.

"Oh Lee!" Clementine said as she knelt and began trying to wake him up. "Wake up Lee. Please...don't be dead. Lee!"

Lee had his eyes closed and Clementine was worried that something really bad had happened to him. She kept on trying to shake him awake.

"Easy Clementine...easy!" Luke told her, prying her off Lee. "He may just be fast asleep."

"Ah!" Lee suddenly bolted to life, scaring everyone.

"SHIT!"

 _BANG!_

"NO! LEEEE!"


	7. William Carver

**A/N: It was a horrible ending. You guys know I won't kill off Clementine or Lee anytime soon. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: William Carver**

Clementine was wide eyed as she looked at Nick who had once again fired the shot. Clementine did not hear Lee yell in pain so she assumed the bullet had missed him. She shakily looked over at him to see that indeed the bullet had missed him. Instead, it had come real close to hitting him again.

"You're a lucky son of a gun, you know that?" Luke asked.

"What the heck?!" she snarled at Nick. "Why would you do that?!"

Pete forcefully ripped the gun away from Nick's hand and gave him a mean scowl. "This is the second time you've almost shot someone. If you keep continuing this, I'm going to have to never let you even touch a gun again..."

Just as Nick was about to apologize or retort, Clementine rushed over to Lee and gave him a hug. "I...I...thought...I never stopped searching for you. I'm so glad I found you."

Lee gave a tired chuckle, still a bit apprehensive about the bullet that almost hit him. "I'm glad you're safe to sweet pea. It wasn't a walker bite. I think I sprained my ankle. He only bit into my jeans. He didn't open any flesh."

"That's reassuring. That means we won't have to put you down," Pete grinned.

Lee chuckled, while Clementine threw him a dirty look. "Easy Clem, he was just joking."

"Are you alright to move by yourself?" Luke asked. "You seem really tired."

"Hell, is that whiskey?" Nick raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I think I can support myself. And look, I found it open like that when I came in here," Lee lied as he chuckled, remembering that same response he made to Danny about the shed door. That idiot believed it. Deep inside, Lee knew that Danny was not that stupid.

"Yeah, my bullshit detector's going through the roof," Pete shook his head.

"Well..."

"That taste good?" Nick asked. "Or does it taste like piss?"

"Nah, it doesn't taste good, but it does the job," Lee admitted.

"Can I try some Lee?" Clementine asked, curious about the bottle of whiskey. She felt ashamed that she even said that, but there was no gong back now. She had asked the question and Lee had heard the question come straight out of her mouth.

"Absolutely not!" Lee objected, giving her a pointed look. "I'm disappointed you even asked that question."

"Well, _you_ drank it, didn't you?" Clementine spoke back. She knew she was wrong for saying that, but she felt ashamed and embarrassed. When she was in those situations, she sometimes blurted out nonsense.

Lee knew he wasn't making things better by saying these things to Clementine. He knew how she was. "Oh Clem. It's okay. Let's get outta here, I don't wanna stay here for a second longer."

Lee tried to get up, but pain flared in his legs again as he growled.

"You need help?" Luke asked.

"No, I got it..."

"Lee needs help," Clementine said. "Can you please help him?"

"Clem, I-"

"Need help. Yeah."

Lee relented as Nick and Luke grabbed his arms and helped him up as they began heading back to the cabin.

"Man, you sure ran a long way, son," Pete said. "It'll be a while to head back to the cabin."

Lee didn't say anything as he stared at the beautiful sky.

"Isn't that moon beautiful?" Pete asked, following his glance. "It's a third quarter moon."

"It sure is," Clementine agreed. "It kinda makes you forget about how horrible this world has turned. It still gives me hope that everything will be alright."

"I don't think so," Nick shook his head. "If we die, we turn or if we're bit...it's over."

"It's just not fair..." Clementine replied, "It's not fair how a single bite can kill you...then what's the point of even living when we're going to die anyways? If the walkers don't get us, something else will."

"You can't look at it like that Clem," Lee said. "I know how bleak and hopeless it is. If you think like that, shouldn't you have given up on your life a long time ago? Since we still have hope, we're still living."

Lee'st thought's immediately raced to the girl who Glenn found that had been bitten. She wanted the gun and put a bullet in her head. He also thought about the couple in the house he, Kenny, Christa, and Omid had found, who were holding hands, a bullet through their heads.

"You don't want to let negative thoughts get to you. They only bring you down," Luke added.

"I thought I lost you..." Clementine blurted out. "I thought you were bit and I thought I'd lose you again."

"Oh Clem..." Lee sighed, "I'm sorry I worried you, but we have to talk about what happens in case I..."

"In case you what?" Clementine asked, her tone dangerous.

"You know...die."

Clementine gasped. "How dare you even say that?"

"Clem, I'm just worried, okay?" Lee asked. "If I die, I don't want you to do anything rash that might put you in danger."

"She did just that," Luke said, making Clementine look at him in betrayal. "We thought you were inside an old cabin so Clementine barged in there looking for you and she got jumped by a walker."

Lee raised his eyebrows and looked at Clementine in shock as she glowered at Luke. "Gee thanks a lot."

"I'm just trying to help you Clem."

"Yeah, you're doing a great job of that..."

"Clementine. Stop being so disrespectful. You were the one who put your life as well as theirs in danger," Lee told her. Lee appreciated the concern Clementine held for him and he was grateful for her support. He understood why she didn't want to lose him, but doing things like that could jeopardize her life. He didn't want her making poor choices because of him, especially if it would hurt her and the others around her.

Clementine huffed, growing a bit mad.

"Clementine, we're not trying to criticize you or anything," Lee said. "I know you're a tough girl and I really care about you too, but you must not..."

"Okay, I get it," Clementine grouched. "I was here worrying about you, but you don't even seem to care. Thanks. Thanks a lot Lee."

She immediately went ahead of the group. Clementine felt stressed, mad, and pretty disappointed of how Lee and the others were treating her. Deep down, she knew she was overreacting, but her mind was hazy, so she couldn't stop it.

"Clementine wait..."

Clementine kept on walking forward, ignoring Lee.

"You should go speak to her son," Pete told Lee.

"Yeah, I should shouldn't I? Sometimes, I feel like I'm being too harsh on her." Lee instantly thought about what Pete had told him about playing a role, even if it meant he would be hated.

"Are you sure things will be okay between them?" Luke asked, concerned. "I mean, from what they've said, they've been together for quite a while..."

"No love lost between them son," Pete explained. "You'll see. After they talk about it, things will return back to normal."

Lee caught up to Clementine as she stared at him for a quick moment, but did not say anything.

"Clem, I'm sorry if I hurt you offended you in anyway," Lee apologized.

Clementine sighed. "It's okay. I was being a big jerk..."

"Clementine, we've talked about this. I'm going to keep telling you this until you understand," Lee said. "I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, but you have to sometimes learn to let it all go."

"If you're hurt, I'm not abandoning you," Clementine firmly said.

"I have nothing against that," Lee explained. "What if I was injured and walkers were going for me? What if it was you running away and surviving, or you running in to save me, but it ends up costing both our lives? What would you do?"

"That won't happen. I won't allow it to."

"Clem, you need to be open to all possibilities. If you were faced with that decision, I don't want you to freeze up. I want you to make the right decision which would be to..." Lee looked at Clem expectantly.

"No...I'm not answering that."

"Clem...answer it. What would you do?"

"No."

Lee gave Clementine a stare as Clementine gave a glare right back. "What do you want me to say? Leave you?"

"That's the correct answer," Lee nodded. "If that were the case, you'd want to run away. Do not hesitate. Run away to safety. Clem, I know it's very hard to say and the thought of that may be unimaginable to you, but..."

Clementine shook her head. "That just feels so wrong to say...to leave you."

"It may be, but the right decision isn't always easy to make. Clem, I'm not saying we will get into that situation. It would take a lot for the world to rip me away from you, but if we were in that situation...why did you barge in through the door without checking to see if it was safe? I thought we learned that lesson a while ago too."

"Because...I thought you were in there. I thought you were bitten and I was...I can't lose you Lee. I just..."

Lee gave a sad sigh. "I understand Clementine."

"You aren't even dying. You're not dead...and you're not bit. Why do we even have to have this talk? Are you just trying to make feel horrible?"

"Never Clem. I wouldn't say anything unless it helps you or you need to know. I would never try to bring out the worst in you or question anything about you," Lee said.

"Okay...just...okay," Clementine relented. "I'll keep that in...mind. I'm sorry for disrespecting you like that. I didn't mean to and I didn't do it because I hate you or anything..."

"I know Clem," Lee smiled. "Don't worry about it."

They walked together in comfortable silence as the rest caught up with them.

"Is everything clear between you two now?" Luke asked.

"There was never anything wrong," Lee replied.

"Yeah. We were always clear."

"Well that's great. The relationship between you guys are among the strongest I've seen in a while here," Luke smiled. "I'd hate to see it broken apart because of a silly argument."

"I told you there was no love lost between those two," Pete's eyes twinkled. "Our cabin is almost there. Alvin, I'll bet you'll be hearing an earful from Rebecca. Just don't make it any worse for us."

"I won't. You know how I can handle Becc. I'll make it as smooth as possible," Alvin reassured them.

After walking for three quarters of a mile, the cabin appeared out of the forest.

"There it is," Nick smiled. "Boy, ain't I glad to be home. We're gonna have a hot meal, then we can relax the day out. I'm actually looking forward to this."

"Cool your jets there son," Pete replied. "Remember what we saw out there? If it is who we think it is, we have to..."

"But we can't be sure," Luke objected. "Sure, it may be him, but what if it isn't? And didn't you say we needed hard proof in order to move forward with things?"

"We'll see how the others feel about this. We'll talk to them about this when we get inside."

The group entered the cabin to see the worried faces of Rebecca and Carlos. As they entered, Rebecca shot up, looked at Alvin, and had a smile of relief. "You're home safe...we were beginning to get worried."

"I'm here babe, don't worry," Alvin smiled.

"Lee, are you okay?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he nodded. "I'm not bit, thankfully, but I think I sprained my ankle."

"Are you sure you're not bit?"

"He's not!" Clementine glared at Carlos.

"Easy Clementine. It's not that I doubt him, it's just that I want to be sure..."

"Yeah, I'm not," Lee shook his head. "I'd tell you if I was. Don't worry."

"Okay, I believe you. Why don't you sit down on this sofa? I can check to see what is wrong with your legs."

"Great. Nick and Clementine, I need you to help prepare dinner for me alright?" Pete asked as the two nodded. "Follow me."

Luke went upstairs to his room while Alvin sat next to Rebecca as they got into a conversation.

Lee rested his leg on top of the sofa as Carlos began looking at it.

"Does it hurt when I do this?" he asked as he applied pressure.

Lee grunted. "Kind of a sharp pain, but it doesn't hurt if you don't press it."

"Your leg is swollen and it looks bruised," Carlos said. "I'd say it's a grade one ankle sprain. All you need is some rest and some ice. Be thankful that it wasn't anything worse. Did you happen to fall down?"

"Yes, the walker pinned me down. I think that is what caused it," Lee admitted.

"I see. Let me fix you right up and you should feel much better tomorrow. I should check Clementine's arm again tonight and redress her wounds. It might start to itch, so you must make sure she does not scratch it."

"With all that bandage in there, I don't think she'd be willing to take it off just to scratch it."

"Trust me. Once it gets itchy, they try to go through the barrier, but you don't want that. And since her wound is large as it is, it'll be hard for her to resist it. Try to keep her mind off her arm and if she can't control it, gently massage it or put pressure on it, but you don't want to scratch and reopen it," Carlos explained.

"Don't worry doc. I'll make sure she doesn't scratch her arm."

Carlos chuckled as he elevated Lee's arm and put an ice pack on his ankle as Lee felt the pain gradually numb.

Soon, dinner was ready. Today, they would be having hot chicken soup as well as a dainty salad.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm. Chicken soup," Alvin grinned. "One of my favorites."

"We made it well. Clementine's a natural in the kitchen," Nick smiled. "Which is not surprising."

"What are you getting at Nick?" Rebecca crossed her arms. "What are you trying to say?"

He raised his hands. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Hm?" Clementine asked. "Rebecca, what are you talking about?"

Rebecca threw Nick a nasty look. "Nothing Clementine. It's okay."

They all gathered around as Carlos was about to call Sarah.

"Carlos, before you bring Sarah here, we have something to discuss that I'd rather not have Sarah here," Pete said as Carlos looked at them worriedly.

"Is everything okay?" Carlos asked, concerned.

"I sure hope so," Pete sighed. "When Lee, Clem, Nick and I went hunting this afternoon, we came upon dead bodies with bullet holes all over them. It was no ordinary gang shoot or nothin'. We figgered it was Carver's gang who came upon here. They must have been scouting."

"No...no way. You're lying!" Rebecca said. "It can't be him...after we escaped..."

"Carver?" Clementine asked as she looked at Lee.

"Right, the camp you ran away from," Lee nodded.

"We have to check the bodies tomorrow," Carlos said. "I want to see with my own eyes. We all should head out and see if they left any clues. Did you check for clues?"

"We didn't have the chance," Luke shook his head, "Because of the incident with Lee."

Lee looked disappointed. "Ah, I'm sorry guys. I shouldn't have done that..."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Pete said and looked at Luke.

"Man, I didn't mean it like that," Luke looked sheepish. "I'm not saying it's your fault. I'm just saying that your safety was a greater priority than searching for clues about Carver."

"Then we can head out tomorrow and search, but this time, we'll all go," Rebecca said.

"Becc, I don't think you should-" Alvin began, but Rebecca raised her hand.

"I've been cooped up here. I still can walk around freely, you know? I'm going. None of you better say anything about it or I swear, you'll never hear the end of it," she warned them.

"I'll go too. Lee, can you do me a favor?" Carlos asked. "I'm going to leave Sarah here. Can you and Clem take care of her? You'll have to distract her and not tell her anything about why we're going or where we're going."

"We can do that," Lee smiled. "Clementine and I will make sure nothing happens."

"Thank you," Carlos nodded as he called Sarah down.

Soon, they had a pretty silent dinner with the only conversation being between Sarah and Clementine. Carlos was still pretty guarded whenever Sarah was involved, but Carlos could see that Clementine did a very good job keeping Sarah company. He could only smile.

Once dinner was over, they split up. Clementine would normally play chess a couple of rounds, but she needed to have her wound redressed. Carlos called her to the table toe examine Clementine's arm.

"How is your arm feeling?" Carlos asked.

"It's getting better. It hurts when I shower, but besides that, everything seems to be turning out quite nicely," Clementine told him.

"That's great to hear. Let's check up on it."

Carlos rolled up Clementine's sleeve as he gently removed the bandages. He looked at the cut to see that the wound had closed up, with scabs taking its place. Carlos winced. This would be the worst part.

"Clementine, the wound is healing, but you will start to feel itchy. Whenever that happens, you must not scratch your arm. If you peel of the scab, your arm may scar, okay? I know it's really tough, but, you must try your best not to scratch."

"Will it be like a mosquito bite?" Clementine asked, remembering about the times when she couldn't stop scratching the mosquito bite. It had been a nuisance to her and she once scratched her arm so hard that she broke the skin, as she began bleeding. She was whisked off to the emergency room.

She recalled that story to Carlos.

"Ah yes, that's one of the dangers of scratching," Carlos said. "I'm glad you were okay."

"Why did it itch though? I just had to scratch it. I figured since you're a doctor, you know why."

"Of course," he chuckled. "You might think it's the mosquito that causes the bump and swelling, but it's your actual body. You see, when a mosquito drinks your blood, she injects her saliva in your bloodstream also, to avoid clotting."

"Why do you call the mosquito a she?" Clementine asked.

"Female mosquito's are the only ones that draw blood. She needs the blood to lay her eggs," Carlos explained. "Your body recognizes that the protein from the saliva is unnatural and it mounts an attack. Your body releases a chemical called histamine that sends a signal to the nerves around that area. They become sensitive and that is why you scratch."

"What's a histamine?" she asked.

"Why, are you interested in becoming a doctor one day?" Carlos chuckled.

"I don't think it matters now..."

"No, it doesn't," he heaved a sigh. "Well, histamine is a chemical your immune system makes. You see, when you sneeze or cough, you release the bacteria. That is a way to get rid of it, yet it is easily contagious. Coughs, sneezing, high fever is your body's way of getting bacteria, though you may feel very uncomfortable."

Clementine took the time to process that.

Meanwhile, Carlos applied another set of ointment on her arm and wrapped it with fresh sets of bandages.

"Your injury is healing very well. If all goes well, you should feel much better once the scab fully develops. You won't feel any pain once the water hits that part of your arm," Carlos smiled.

"Thank you for this."

"You are very welcome," Carlos smiled.

The rest of the night was short as soon they were tired and ready for bed. After getting ready for bed, Lee and Clementine lay next to each other on the bed.

"Quite an eventful day, wasn't it?" Lee whispered.

"Yeah, it was," Clementine whispered back, lying on her side, facing Lee.

"You know, the past few days when nothing much was happening, I kinda thought that our lives would be normal...or as normal as it can get," Lee replied. "But today, all this happens."

"Yeah...it's...it's been a pretty crazy day. Do you think that Carver guy will come here? Are we even safe?"

"We don't know yet. We'll have to see tomorrow," Lee told her. "Hey, it's going to be alright. We're safe...or this place is safer than being outside. We can think of a plan and had to Wellington if that's what you want."

"A plan..." Clementine said. "I remember when you said that on the train."

"Ah yes. That was a...plan alright. Not sure if it was a great one though."

Clementine chuckled. "Let's talk about it later. I'm sleepy. Good night Lee."

"Night Clem. Sleep tight."

Silence met them as the breeze from the outside whistled.

...

"AHH!" Clementine sighed as she rose out of bed, stretching.

She had slept wonderfully and she was excited for whatever today would bring. She saw that Lee was already awake and had exited the room. She never could wake up before Lee. He would always get up first, or already be up first which strangely annoyed her.

She got ready as she headed downstairs.

"Breakfast Clementine," Luke smiled as he offered her an open seat.

Clementine smiled in thanks as she sat down next to Rebecca. Everyone besides Sarah and Nick were awake. Pete was looking out the windows, searching for something as the rest were already eating breakfast.

"How'd you sleep Clem?" Lee asked.

"Good, but then bad because you woke up before me," Clementine said.

Lee chuckled. "You'll have to keep trying. The only way you'll wake up ahead of me is if you wake up at three and don't sleep from there, but don't do that."

"A growing girl like you must get your sleep," Carlos said. "Around nine to eleven hours should be plenty."

Clementine nodded as she began eating. Halfway through their meal, Nick bounded down, looking tired.

"You look like crap, son," Pete said.

"Gee, thanks for pointing out the obvious," Nick rolled his eyes. "Man, I'm starved."

"Don't wharf down yer food," Pete replied. "We gotta go check out the bodies after this."

"Hell, I totally forgot about that."

"It's like every important thing that goes around you forget."

"Screw you..." Nick scowled.

Pete just rolled his eyes.

"You know, hearing you two argue like that constantly is driving all of us crazy," Alvin said. "You guys really have to bury the hatchet."

"I highly doubt that'll happen," Nick rolled his eyes. "Not with this asshole."

"Enough," Carlos told them. "Nick, finish eating so we can head out. I want the rest of this breakfast silent."

No one said another word as they finished their breakfast. Soon, it was time for them to head out. Carlos readied the guns and handed it to everyone. Pete immediately exited with Luke and Nick following him.

"Please, watch over Sarah," Carlos told Clementine and Lee. "Remember what I said. Do not open the door for anyone. We'll be back soon."

"No problem Carlos...we will watch over Sarah and make sure the door stays closed," Lee promised.

"Thank you," he said as he prepared to leave, but turned to them once more. "Thank you."

Clementine waved goodbye as Carlos left and shut the door.

Lee and Clem looked at each other.

"So, we should check up on Sarah," Lee said. "Why don't we go in her room and make sure she's okay?"

Clementine agreed to that as both of them headed upstairs. They went up the stairs quietly, in case she was still sleeping and once they were on her door, they slowly opened in as Clementine entered first.

 _FLASH!_

Clementine grimaced in pain as the light temporary blinded her.

"Say cheese!" they heard Sarah say as she took a picture of them with her camera. "I found this under the house. There were all kinds of old stuff!"

"Sarah, you shouldn't be touching around the house," Lee told her. "How long have you been awake?"

"For quite a while now...immediately after dad awoke and left," she shrugged.

A film came out of the camera's opening as Sarah handed it to Clementine. It was pitch black, but after a few seconds, Clem's picture was revealed. In the picture, Clementine had on a funny, what the heck is going on look.

Lee chuckled. "That picture is really something."

Clementine scowled. "I'm going to rip this up. It's embarrassing."

Lee immediately snatched her photo and put it in his back pocket. "I don't think so."

"Hey, give it back!" Clementine said, trying to reach out for it, but Lee skirted away.

"I think I'll keep this one, if you don't mind," Lee smiled. "Just in case we're not together, I can always have this photo to remember you by."

"...Well, you should just take another picture then."

"I think this one is perfect," Lee gently said.

"Can you take one of me please?" Sarah asked. "Or take one of me and Clementine!"

"I don't think you're dad would approve of you taking pictures," Lee told her. "Give me the camera, Sarah. We don't want to anger your dad."

"Please?" Sarah asked. "I never have any freedom with my dad around and...he never lets me do anything. Please, just one picture. I won't tell my dad."

"What does your dad do when he's, uh...angry?" Lee asked.

"He yells at me and says how disappointed he is. Then he says he loves me and he's doing this for me," Sarah replied. "He's a really cool dad, but he just doesn't let me have fun. It's frustrating."

Lee felt sympathetic for the girl, but he made the promise to Carlos.

"Come on Lee. One picture wouldn't hurt," Clementine said as Sarah looked hopeful.

Great, now Clementine was on Sarah's side, making this decision all the more difficult.

"Clem, we promised Carlos..."

"He doesn't have to know. Sarah promised not to tell, right?" Clementine asked Sarah.

"Right!" she grinned.

"All right," Lee relented as Sarah whooped for joy. Lee couldn't help but to smile.

He readied the camera as Sarah pulled Clementine next to her, putting an arm around her. Sarah gave a huge smile as Clementine just stared at the camera.

"Give me a smile to Clem," Lee said.

"Yeah Clem, smiiile! Say cheese!" Sarah agreed.

"Cheese," she said halfheartedly, but gave a small smile.

Lee chuckled as he removed the flash.

 _SNAP!_

A picture of them came out as Lee smiled. They looked like best friends.

Lee handed it to Clementine and Sarah.

"Wow, we came out good!" Sarah smiled.

"We sure did, huh?" Clem replied.

"Um...Clementine, we're friends right? I know I asked you that at the dinner table a couple days ago, but I thought you might've just said yes because the others were there," Sarah said a bit sheepishly.

"Yes, we are friends," Clementine told her. "Don't worry."

"Sweeet!" Sarah sing songed as she gave a huge grin.

Lee had to smile. That girl was so pure. It was touching watching Clementine and Sarah bond. After all, Sarah had been the only girl that was near Sarah's age who Clementine had the chance to interact like that.

"You girls might just become the best of friends," Lee gave his own two cents.

"That'd be awesome," Sarah said. "Hey, I actually found something and I was wondering if you can help me with it."

Sarah dug under her bed as she took out a handgun and aimed it right at Lee's face.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Clementine growled in shock and horror as they immediately shielded themselves out of instinct.

"Why are you holding a gun Sarah?" Lee asked.

"Don't worry. It's empty," she shrugged. "I was wondering if you can teach me how to use this. It'd help me a lot, you know?"

"That is where I have to stop you," Lee said and took the gun from Sarah. Lee made sure the gun was empty as he stuck it in his back pocket. "We can't teach you how to use a gun. It's too dangerous and requires a lot of practice."

Lee expected Sarah to complain and whine, but surprisingly, she relented. "Oh...okay then."

Lee softly smiled. "It's okay Sarah. At least we took a photo of you and your friend."

Clementine gave Lee a glance, but looked back at Sarah and smiled. "Yeah."

Immediately, her mood brightened up and it was more brighter when she heard the sound of footsteps outside. "Oh, Luke's back!"

Sarah immediately raced down as Lee and Clementine followed after her. They saw a shadow walking through the windows as Sarah was tensed up at the door, a frightened look on her face.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" Lee gently asked. "Is it them?"

"No, it's not them," Sarah shook her head rapidly. "I think I know who it is though."

Her breath became more frantic and rapid.

"Sarah, calm down," Lee told her. "Who is it? Do you know them?"

They heard a knock on the door.

"I...I think I..."

"Go hide," Clementine told her.

"Wh-where?! I can't breathe! I can-can't-!"

"Shhh," Clementine reassured. "Hide in your room, okay? Quietly."

Sarah nodded as she tiptoed off.

"Hello?" a man's voice asked. "Anyone home?"

"Clementine, get Sarah to safety. Let me deal with this," Lee told her. "Don't argue...just do as I say."

Clementine looked at Lee, then at Sarah as she grabbed her hand and led her out of there.

Lee put his hand where his gun was as he approached the door. He was about to lock it when the door opened. Standing there was a man who seemed to be in his forties. He had dark brown, short hair with a brown coat. His voice was gravelly.

"Hello there," Carver smiled at Lee.

Lee looked at him curiously. "Who are you?"

"I'm just a neighbor. I'm surprised we haven't met each other yet. My family and I are set down ways across the river. My name is George. Who are you?" 'George' asked as he extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you George...I'm Lee," Lee told him, not saying his last name.

"Well Lee, mind if I come in for a moment? It's hot outside and this heat has got me cooked," 'George' said as he let himself in.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Lee told him. "I can't have any visitors around here."

"Do you mind if I ask why?" 'George' asked. "I'm curious as to why you can't have any visitors in here. This is a really nice place. Is there anyone else around here? You never see cabins this big out here."

Lee crossed his arms. Something about this man was really strange to Lee. Who was this guy? Lee thought that he was lying about his name. Was he by any chance...

"Do you know anyone named Carver?" Lee asked.

'George's' eyes widened for a split second, but immediately returned to its normal look. "Carver? Who's that? Am I supposed to know who he is?"

Lee narrowed his eyes. "I have a gun. If you don't leave..."

"I'm sure you wouldn't do that. You seem like a nice person," 'George' looked at Lee without even flinching or with a tone of worry.

"Lee, is everything okay?" they heard Clementine's voice as she approached Lee and the stranger.

"Oh, who's this? You're daughter?" 'George' asked.

Clementine crossed her arms and stared at him. "Will you please get out?"

'George' stared at the two. He was happy at what he was seeing. He could use tough people like them both to help lead the flock. 'George' was not dumb. He knew that they knew the members of this cabin, but 'George' was playing a game with them. He wanted to scout to bring his people back. His eyes went over to a checkered shirt.

 _Carlos,_ 'George' thought. His suspicions had been confirmed. His work here was done. He didn't need to pry anymore. If he had only met the girl, he knew he could have drilled her for questions and take more time in the cabin, but because of that man Lee, he knew it wouldn't work. 'George' saw it in his eyes. He wasn't afraid to hurt people or threaten them if his or that kid's life was endangered. Lee would make a very good leader, just like him. He wasn't afraid.

"Thank you for your time. I'll let myself out now," he smiled at Clementine and Lee. After he walked out, he smirked. The flock would return back to the herd. He would get to be with his baby again and this time, he wouldn't let them go.

Clementine and Lee stared at 'George's fleeing figure as they closed the door.

"Troy...Bonnie...Tavia," 'George' spoke in a walkie talkie, "Prep our plan. I've found our target."

"Alright Bill, we'll do as you say," came the voice of a woman.

William Carver gave an evil laugh. They would all pay for their treachery, dearly.

After Carver left, Sarah came down with a sigh of relief.

"Is he gone?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, he's gone," Lee nodded. "I don't think his name was George...I think he was lying..."

Sarah gave a quivering sigh as a few moments after, the group returned.

"Hey guys," Lee gave a grim smile.

"Glad to see you guys still alive," Luke grinned as he entered with the rest.

"Sarah," Carlos said as Sarah rushed over to hug him.

"A man was in here," Lee crossed his arms, looking at them.

"What?"

"A man?" Rebecca asked.

"Woah, woah, woah. What are you talking about?" Nick asked. "What man?"

"Silence. Let him explain," Pete said, holding his hand up. Go ahead Lee.

"He just walked right in," Lee explained. "Said his name was George. Didn't believe him. I told him to leave and he left after a few minutes. He didn't give us much trouble. He had on a brown coat and had a deep, gravelly voice. I asked him if he knew who Carver was. He seemed surprised, but only for a split second, and then he said he didn't know who he was."

"No..." Rebecca shook her head. "It can't be...it can't..."

"I...he is...I think he is," Sarah whimpered. "I recognized him...I did...Clementine helped me to hide in my room so he didn't see me."

"This is not good," Carlos grimly said, looking out the window. "You being there must have scared him, Lee, but now that he knows who you guys are, it'd be safe if you came with us."

"We have to get out of here," Alvin told all of them. "Now...they could be back with more men and you know how much he hates me."

"Alvin's right. Pack your bags, we're leaving..." Rebecca agreed.

"I really liked this place, you know?" Nick groaned.

"Then stay here," Pete suggested. "None of us would care if you did that, okay?"

Nick threw Pete a glare and Luke piped in before they could argue. "We could head up north towards the mountains and hopefully find something there."

"Anywhere, but here," Carlos said. "Everyone, pack your bags. We're leaving. Lee, will you and Clementine accompany us?"

"If you'd be willing to have us, yeah," Lee replied.

"Great. I don't know what he told you, but he is a dangerous, intelligent man. We were lucky to have escaped his camp."

"He didn't seem afraid when I told him I had a gun. Looked me straight in the eye and told me that I wouldn't pull the trigger," Lee admitted.

"He's a fearless, ruthless man," Alvin shook his head. "We're sorry to involve you into our situation, but it is for your safety."

"No need to apologize Alvin. We understand," Lee said as everyone began to pack their things.

Once they were finished packing, they immediately hit the road. They wasted no time as they began their trek further up north to the mountains where they hoped they would find safety.

Lee and Clementine were walking side by side.

"Well, I had hoped this would last longer, but, in just a few days, we're still running for our lives," Lee told Clem.

"Right," Clementine nodded, "It was a shame. I was growing comfortable."

"It'll be okay Clem. We still have each other and this group to rely on now."

"Yeah, we do, don't we?" Clementine asked as she looked at Sarah who came up next to her and Lee.

"Heya friend!" Sarah grinned.

"Hi Sarah."

"Listen Clem, I just wanted to thank you for being my friend. You're the first girl my age who has paid attention to me and cared for me that much and I really appreciate it. You're a really sweet girl. I just wanted you to know that."

"Thanks Sarah. You're not so bad either," Clementine complimented.

"Hey, what's your favorite animal?" Sarah asked.

"Oh um..."

Engaged in a friendly conversation, they quickened their pace a bit as they got ahead of Lee. Lee just stared at the two bonding and couldn't help but to smile. Looks like she had found a friend, and they had found a reliable group they can trust.


	8. Journey up North

**Hey guys, enjoy another chapter. Clementine also will make the tough decisions also, not just Lee, so don't worry. :) And to those who think I'm making Clementine too clingy to Lee is because she was with Lee for three years. She did not have to survive alone without Lee and Omid, so she wasn't hardened by Lee's death.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Journey up North**

* * *

The group headed up north, far past the river bank, passing the old cabin, mini-house, and the shed. Lee had to wince as he remembered his time there. It had not been good at all.

"Hey, there's that shed you were in," Clementine helpfully said.

"Yeah. Right over there," Lee sighed as he saw a dead walker leaning on a tree, riddled with bullet holes.

"There's some whiskey in there, in case any of you want some," Nick suggested.

"Hell, I could go for a drink," Pete smiled. "Hold up a minute."

"We have to head our way north...not get drunk," Rebecca crossed her arms.

"Rebecca is right," Carlos agreed. "I can't tell you guys what to do, but I suggest that none of you drink any whiskey until we know for sure we have shelter and it's safe."

"Fine, then we can carry some in our bags for later," Pete said as he headed inside the shed, cocking his gun.

He checked in the shed in case any lurkers had gotten in there as he found none, he grabbed a couple bottles of whiskey and stuffed them in his backpack. Pete wasn't stupid. He knew that if he carried too much, it'd weigh him down. He exited the shed then rejoined the group. He caught Clementine staring at him.

"Can I help you, kid?" Pete asked. "It ain't polite to stare...spit it out."

"Nothing..." she shrugged.

"Right," he sighed as they resumed their trek.

Rebecca caught up with Clementine and Lee. "Hey Lee. Do you mind if I talk with Clementine for a bit?"

"Oh, no problem," Lee smiled. "Clementine?"

"Yeah, I'll talk with her," she nodded as Rebecca gave a small smile.

Lee slowed his steps as Clem and Rebecca got in front of him.

"Hey, listen," Rebecca told Clementine. "About what happened back there the first day...I'm sorry for giving you so much shit from day one until now. It's just that I'm a little on edge. While I didn't approve of Luke and Pete giving you food and the blankets, I knew you were in a tough spot."

Clementine just stared forward, silently accepting her apology. "Why is Carver after you?"

That surprised Rebecca, considering the relationship she had with Bill. "After m-me? What do you mean? Oh, you mean after us..."

Clementine looked at Rebecca strangely.

"It's nothing Clem. Ignore that," Rebecca sighed. "Besides leaving his camp? He has a hard time...letting go. Thank you for doing your best back there, handling William. I'm sure he must have intimidated you."

"Lee did most of the talking. I hid Sarah," Clementine told her. "I just asked him to please get out and he left, but I'm sure Lee was the one who had the conversation with him."

"Oh, I should thank Lee too, then. Now that I now trust you both. You both have erased any doubt I had with you guys working with Carver. You know, none of us would have made it on our own. Sometimes, its hard knowing how dependent I am on everyone. I'm not used to that. I'm not comfortable with that. I'm supposed to be a mom soon. Guess I need to work on my patience."

"I agree with you about not making it alone," Clementine said. "I've said this many times, but if Lee hadn't found me, I would have been dead."

"Yes, I recall you telling me that," Rebecca nodded. "I know we need each other to survive, but in a crazy world like this, it's hard to earn trust and to trust others. I'm blessed to have met people like them."

"Yeah. Some people Lee and I met were not good people. Like, you know, the St. John's Dairy people. I think they were the worst ones we met."

"I still can't understand why anyone would do that. That is just sick and just crazy to eat...urgh..."

Clementine winced, quickly changing the subject. "Is the baby the reason why you are so dependent on others? I think you're a very tough woman."

"Yes, that's exactly why. It isn't easy carrying the baby in me," Rebecca said.

"Why is the baby even in you? What happened?"

"I'm not fit to tell you these things," Rebecca awkwardly said.

"I mean, you're the one with the baby, so...I don't see why not."

"Are you actually curious about this topic?" Rebecca asked.

"No, not really."

Rebecca chuckled. "Thought so."

"What do you plan on naming the baby?" Clementine wondered.

"You know, Alvin and I still don't know what to call her," Rebecca shrugged. "Or...him, if that man gets his wish, God help me. Do you have any ideas?"

Clementine thought for a moment. "If the baby is a girl, um...maybe...um..."

Rebecca chuckled. "It's okay Clementine. It's really hard to find that perfect name for a baby."

"Well...when I was with Christa and Omid, Christa was pregnant. Omid wanted to call the baby boy Omid Jr...and if the baby was a female, he wanted to call her Christa," Clementine remembered. "So...maybe Alvin Jr...or Rebecca Jr.?"

"You know...that is not bad at all. I think I might...yeah," Rebecca thought. "Alvin Jr...Rebecca Jr...hm."

"You should think about it," Clementine smiled. "No rush though."

Rebecca chuckled. "Right. Well, thanks for your time Clementine. I really appreciate you talking to me."

"Your welcome. I think I...I kinda like talking to you."

"Great, now I know who to talk too if I grow bored."

Rebecca looked at Lee and went over to him. "Lee, do you have a minute?"

"Sure Rebecca," he nodded.

Clementine looked forward, looking at the trees and scanning the area once more as Luke now was the one who caught up to her and began walking next to her. Clementine acknowledged his presence with a nod.

"Hey there Clem. Glad you're with us now," Luke gave a big smile. "Glad both you and Lee are with us, should I say. Since we know you guys now, we're glad you are part of our group. Even Rebecca seems to accept you, which is great. Finding a reliable group like this is hard, and you need each other to get through tough times. Considering you and Lee are still alive, consider me impressed. Hearing about the stories you guys have been telling, I'm surprised you guys are even still alive, especially you."

Immediately, Clementine grew hostile towards Luke and glared at him. "And what's that supposed to mean? And those aren't stories...they actually happened."

Luke instantly regretted what he had just said. "Woah, easy Clem. I didn't mean it like that. That totally came out wrong. I'm sorry. What I meant was that you both are really tough and must trust each other enough to be with each other like that for a long time."

Clementine could tell Luke didn't mean it, so she dropped the glare and nodded. "Yeah."

Luke looked at the map of Virginia he was carrying. "So, it looks like it's a four to five day walk up north to reach the mountains. Now, if they're tracking us, we should be able to lose them up there."

Rebecca stopped talking to Lee and looked at Luke in disbelief. "Five days...?"

"It's gonna be okay, Bec," Alvin reassured.

"We have to keep moving now," Carlos agreed. "It's our only choice."

"I don't think I can handle five days," Rebecca sighed.

"We can stop to take rests and of course we will have to sleep to get the energy for the next day, but we must not linger. Given how persistent Carver is, if we take too long, he may intercept us," Luke said. "Don't worry. It's going to be all right. We're running for our freedom here."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Rebecca huffed as she continued forward along with the others.

...

"You know the plan right?"

"Yessir."

William Carver looked at the cabin the survivors had been staying in. He had on a smirk. He finally could reunite with his Rebecca and his child that she was carrying. Carver had Tavia, Johnny, Bonnie, and Troy, his four loyal guards with him, as well as an escort to bring them safely back to camp.

"You know the plan. You know where to check," Carver told them. "Today will be a beautiful, glorious reunion with our escaped friends here."

"Bill, what if they have left already?" Bonnie asked. Bonnie was one of Carver's guards. She had red hair and seemed to be in her late twenties.

"Doubt it, but if they did, they probably headed north. We will find them there," Carver replied as he approached the door.

The guards all got into position.

"Open up!" Carver spoke. "If you don't, I'm busting down the door and you all are going to be in deep trouble. I'm giving you to the count of three. One...two..."

There was still no answer as Carver immediately kicked the door down with brute force, sending the door off its hinges and to the floor. They all flooded in the house, with their guns drawn, ready to fire.

"Come out wherever you are," Troy chuckled. This was going to be good.

"Bonnie. Tavia. Check downstairs. Troy, Johnny and I will go upstairs to check for them," Carver said as he headed up.

After poking into every room, and searching every nook and cranny without finding any of them, they met at the living room of the house.

"Not here Bill," Tavia said. "They must have packed up and headed north."

"Well, what are we waiting for? We're wasting precious time here. They were smart to not stick around for too along. Looks like that Lee and Clementine told the others about our presence. They aren't stupid, no..." Carver grinned, "We'll catch up to them in due time. Let's go. Move out."

...

The journey was tiring for everyone, especially Rebecca. They had done nothing but walking for the past five days and they were all tired, but they could see the bridge up ahead and they knew it was no time for rest. Rebecca showed how tough she was by pushing her body harder than normal. She needed the rest and no one could say anything if she wanted to sit down for a bit, but she knew that if Carver caught with them, it'd be fate worse than death...in her eyes.

They soon came across a huge, red bridge.

"Well, here's the bridge. Let's cross it," Nick said.

"Let me...rest here...for a bit," Rebecca huffed. "I've pushed myself as hard as I can go."

"Let her rest," Alvin agreed.

"Yeah, you've been pushing it really hard. I'm impressed," Lee said.

"Well, she's a really tough girl," Alvin winked. "Clementine reminds me exactly of Rebecca, a tough woman."

"Though she's not as bad as me," Rebecca sighed. "I can sometimes be explosive..."

"Clementine, do you mind checking with this binocular what you see?" Luke asked. "Use this rock as ground and try spotting something useful."

Clementine nodded as she readied her eyes.

"She better find something damn useful. We've been walking for a week," Alvin said.

Clementine peered through the glass. What she mostly saw were trees and mountains that seemed to take up the entire horizon.

"All I see are trees and mountains," Clementine spoke, heading right.

"Great, wonderful," Nick sarcastically said, rolling his eyes. "Exactly what we needed. More trees."

"Anything else Clementine?" Pete asked, ignoring Nick.

A ski lift caught her eye, as it led to some wind turbines and a lodge. Clementine's eye lit up. "Yeah. I see a ski lift that leads to a lodge or something..."

"Huh...that must be the ski resort," Luke said.

"I've never been skiing," Clementine admitted.

"Really?" Alvin asked as she nodded. "Well you should try, once. Bec and I went there once."

"How was it?"

"Terrible," Alvin chuckled.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad," Rebecca agreed.

"Dad, can we go skiing please?" Sarah asked. "I want to go skiing!"

"Not now hon. Maybe in the future, okay?"

"But dad-"

"Sarah, please," Carlos firmly said as Sarah looked glum. "Do you see anything else Clementine? Anything by the bridge? Does the bridge look passable?"

"Yeah. The bridge looks passable. I see a small house also at the bridge."

"How small is it?"

"Pretty small." Clementine put the binoculars back in her backpack as she turned to them. "What's our plan?"

"I say we should split up. Clem and I or Luke and I can scout the bridge. We'll search high and low to see if it's safe, then we'll report back," Lee suggested. "While splitting up is risky, it's better than risking everyone's life."

"Yeah, I can scout with you," Luke agreed. "The rest of you stay here."

"I'm coming also," Clementine demanded.

"I don't think you should go Clementine," Carlos disagreed. "You're just a...girl."

"She can come if she wants," Lee smiled.

"You're not afraid she'll get hurt?" Carlos questioned, questioning his responsibility.

"You know, there was this guy named Vernon who had his doubts about Clementine too when we were going in Crawford. He said that she was too young and it was too dangerous. I told him that she wasn't just excess baggage. She actually managed to help us get out of tight situations. I trust her and if she wants to come, she can come," Lee replied.

"I see. I'm sorry for sounding condescending, I was just-"

"Concerned for her safety," Lee nodded. "That is okay. Don't worry."

Clementine smiled at Lee as he smiled back. She really wasn't just excess...she was necessary.

"It's all going to be fine," Luke said. "We'll give you a signal in ten minutes. You guys just stay here and listen for the signal."

"Let me come too," Nick rose up, looking at Lee and Luke.

"I think three's plenty," Luke replied. "You stay here, okay? In case things get hairy, then you could come, but for now..."

Nick stared at Luke. "All right then. But if I here any sign of trouble, I'm coming in rather you like it or not."

"Fair enough," Luke agreed.

"But please, watch your trigger finger," Lee suggested. "If there are helpful people there, I don't want anything becoming worse than it is."

"No problem."

The three departed for the bridge while the others looked on with some concern.

While they were walking, they got into a conversation.

"I'm just glad we lost that Carver guy back there," Lee told Luke.

"I wouldn't rely on that," Luke replied. "He's still after us, I know he is."

"It's been five days. Why would he still be after us?" Clementine asked.

Luke looked at Clementine and asked a question of his own. "Out of food, safety, and family, what is most important?"

Lee looked at Clementine as Clementine looked back at him. They chorused together. "Family."

Luke chuckled. "Heh. It's a tough world out there without people you can trust. And...you both...well, that's how you got it this far, by relying on each other and sometimes even putting your life in the other's hands. As for Carver, ask Rebecca. I don't like getting in the middle."

"Just how bad was at his camp?" Lee asked.

Luke shook his head forlornly. "It was really bad."

Lee saw that he didn't like talking about it, so he decided to let it go for now. They soon came before the bridge to see two walkers. One was sitting down, back against the wall while another was standing up.

"There's only two of them. What should we do?" Luke asked.

"We take em," Clementine gave an evil grin.

"I like your style," Luke winked.

"I got the big one," Clementine said, looking at Lee and Luke.

"Hey now," Luke reasoned. "I know you got guts, but are you crazy?"

Clementine stared at Luke then smirked. "Maybe I am."

Lee chuckled. "She could do it Luke. Watch."

"Then I guess I'll get the small one," Luke replied. "Take down the big one first Clem. I don't want to get their attention just yet."

Clementine nodded as she approached the big one, taking out a hammer.

"Clem, use this," Lee said and gave her an ice pick. "It won't get stuck easily."

Clementine took the ice pick and snuck behind the distracted walker. She immediately shoved the pick straight through his head as he fell down, limp. She easily took it out as Luke finished slicing off the head of the small one.

"Woah, nice job," Luke grinned. "I underestimated you."

"That'd be the last mistake you'll make against this girl," Lee chuckled.

Luke approached Clementine and extended his hand. Clementine stared at it curiously and extended her own, clueless. Luke immediately smacked her hand, giving her a low five.

"Um...what was that?"

"Woah Lee. You didn't teach her what a high five was?" Luke asked in disbelief that this girl did not know what a high five was.

"I mean...um..." Lee scratched his head.

"I'm just joking man. Come on, let's go," Luke chuckled to himself as they began crossing the bridge. "Keep your guard up...anything could await us at that bridge."

They looked at the tracks on the bridge and realized that this bridge was meant to be a passageway for trains. The wooden tracks looked corroded, so they simply skirted around the edges, moving at a constant pace. They were almost half way there and things were going smoothly.

Lee raised his hands as they stopped. Lee pointed at the walkers who were sitting down on the tracks.

"Walkers!" Luke harshly whispered. "Shit!"

That caught their attention as they stood up and began towards them, groaning.

Clementine elbowed Luke in the stomach as he winced. There also was a walker who was coming for them at the beginning of the bridge.

"We're boxed in," Lee whispered. "Let's retrace our steps. We can take that one walker. Stand behind me."

Lee led the way as he approached the walker, weapon in hand when suddenly the bridge under him gave way.

"LEE!" Clementine yelled.

"Shit!" Luke gasped.

Lee fell through, but thankfully, he got caught under the bridge. He was long enough to not fall through the hole. Unfortunately there was a walker who was unable to move, trying to reach for him.

"Clem, Luke, I'm okay!" Lee called out, breathing hard. "Don't worry about me! Go on and tell the others! Leave me, now!"

"No! Never!" Clementine growled.

"Yeah, no fucking way," Luke glared at Lee. "We will get you out of there!"

"Behind you!"

Luke and Clementine looked behind to see the walkers approach them.

"Well, I'm glad we still have four able hands," Luke smiled as he extended his machete. "Try aiming for the legs!"

Luke kicked the walker on the leg as it lost support and fell down. Clementine drove the ice pick through its head.

"Huh...so kicking their legs, incapacitate's them, huh?" Luke asked himself as he grinned.

While they faced off against the remaining walkers, Lee found himself slipping. He knew if he fell to the water, it'd be game over for him. He needed a weapon to stop that walker from reaching him. He didn't want to use his gun because the sound would alert the nearby walkers. Lee looked around to find a pipe lodged in the bottom. It was long enough to fill the hole. It would only support his weight once. If he didn't hang on, he's plummet down to the river below. Lee gave breath as he wedged the pipe. He then stood on in and jumped. The pipe and parts of the bottom of the bridge fell into the ocean as Lee grabbed on to the ledge for dear life. He suddenly felt hands dragging his ankles down.

"Shit!" he growled, trying to kick off the walker. He couldn't let himself fall and he also had to watch out not to get bitten.

Even though he was using all his strength to wrench himself from the walker's grasp, he knew he needed help fast. He couldn't dispose of the walker and hoist himself up. He'd lose strength really quickly. But, while he was struggling, he was expending his energy. He didn't know how long he could keep this up.

"Help! Dammit!"

He could hear Clementine and Luke fight off the walkers.

"Clementine! Clem!"

"Lee's in trouble!" he heard Clementine say as he heard footsteps.

"Go! Go to him Clem! I got this!"

Clementine peered over to see the scenario Lee was in.

"I'm here Lee! I'm here!"

"Thank God," he sighed. "I need you to get this walker off of me somehow. Don't fall in!"

Clementine reached out for her hammer and aimed it at the walker's head.

"Good. That hammer isn't a reliable weapon. Be sure to aim it at the walker's head, not mine, okay?"

Clementine glowered at him as she threw the weapon. It hit the walker hard on its head as it let go of Lee for a split second. Lee took that opportunity to pull himself up with Clementine trying to help.

Lee was on his hands and knees as he caught his breath.

 _SHLINK!_

They turned to see Luke slice up the last walker as it fell dead. Luke rushed over to Lee and Clementine. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it was a bit close, but Clementine saved me," Lee replied. "Thanks for your help. Are you okay?"

"Couldn't have been better," Luke nodded. "Man, that was a close one. Thought it was over when that bridge gave way. I'm glad you both are safe now..."

"Someone's coming," Clementine said.

Lee and Luke looked at the direction Clementine was looking at as they saw a hooded figure with a gun approach them.

"Stay on your guard," Lee whispered.

"Who are you?" the voice called out, stopping on the tracks.

"We're just passerby's. We don't want any trouble," Lee replied. "We were just ambushed by walkers and we needed help. You see, we have a group with us down there and we're low on food."

"You don't look like assholes...you don't sound like assholes. Are you assholes?" the man asked, walking a bit closer to them. "Saw you guys walking across and thought I'd meet you half way."

Soon, the man came into view. He looked to be Asian American with black hair covered by a hoodie and a goatee.

"We're not assholes, don't worry," Lee reassured.

"Do you know Carver?" Clementine blurted out.

"George Washington Carver? Like the peanut guy?" the man replied, confused.

"What?"

"George Washington Carver was an intelligent man," Lee smiled, reminiscing back to his teaching days, "Don't confuse him with the first president of the United States."

"Huh, so you must know your history then," the man seemed impressed.

"Well, I was a professor before all this started. Used to teach history, but that doesn't matter."

"I see. Other than Washington Carver, I don't know any other Carver's. You three look like shit. We have canned food by the station down there. You can take some food from there for your group. And no, there isn't any catch. I have plenty. I always look out for fellow travelers, as long as they aren't assholes."

"Wow, thanks," Lee smiled.

"Yes, thank you," Luke said.

"No problem," the man grinned. "I'm Matthew by the way."

"I'm Lee. This is Luke, and the girl here is Clementine," Lee introduced.

"Well, nice to meet you Lee, Luke, and Clementine. As I've said, we've got food and supplies down by the station and if you'd like..." Matthew immediately hesitated. "What...the...fuck?"

The three looked back as they saw Nick approaching.

"What is he doing here?" Lee asked.

"I have no fucking clue," Luke replied in disbelief.

Nick stopped, looking shocked, then drew his rifle. Matthew immediately drew his and aimed it at Nick.

"No, no, no, he's with us!" Luke tried to placate.

Lee's eyes widened. He knew Nick was too far away to hear them and knowing how unpredictable Nick was, Lee feared the worst.

"Matthew, get down, now! Luke, get Clementine!" Lee ordered.

Lee tackled Matthew down as Luke did the same for Clementine.

 _BANG!_

Nick's gun fired, missing his intended target. Luke immediately rose up and raced to Nick. "Nick, drop your fucking gun! Drop it right now!"

"I'm so sorry," Lee apologized. "I knew how unpredictable he was. That's why I tackled you."

"No worries, you saved my life right there," Matthew replied, thinking about how he avoided death. If he had been killed, it would have been tough on...

Clementine also shakily rose up and went to talk to Nick.

"Nick, he was going to help us," Clementine said.

"I got this Clem," Luke replied and angrily faced Nick. "You don't just go shooting people. I thought I told you to stay there. Why did you come over here?"

"You were taking so long man. I-I'm sorry, okay?" he apologized.

"Apologize to the man you almost killed...now that you fired your gun, we have to get off the bridge."

Luke signaled to the group who had followed them as they all converged at the end of the bridge with Nick giving an apology to Matthew. Thankfully, Matthew was gracious enough to accept it.

Matthew once more introduced himself to the group.

"So, you are not with Carver?" Carlos asked.

"Nope. Don't know who your Carver is. Why, is he some kind of wanted murderer?" Matthew asked.

Rebecca immediately winced as Matthew caught that. "Hey, didn't mean to pry. You don't have to answer that question. Anyways, you all must be hungry. I have some food at the station, if one of you can help me grab it, I'd greatly appreciate it."

"I'll go," Clementine volunteered as Matthew smiled.

"Thanks kid."

"Son, I need to speak to you and Luke for a minute," Pete said, approaching Luke who was giving Nick an earful.

"It's okay, really. It was an honest mistake," Matthew tried to reassure.

"Still...that boy needs to learn how to think before he acts," Pete replied. "I need to see you both, now. Don't worry about us."

"Oh, can I come also to help?" Sarah asked Matthew. "I want to be with my friend."

"We don't need another person, but sure, why not?" Matthew asked.

"Dad, can I?"

"Sure thing Sarah. Clementine, please take care of her."

"You don't have to worry Carlos," Clementine said as the three headed in the station.

Matthew grabbed the keys and opened the blue chest that was off to the side. Inside, were a can of peaches and some books.

"Woah, are those books?" Sarah asked.

"Sure is kid. You love reading?" Matthew replied.

"Oh yes. I have many books at home. I packed some books also, but I've read them all."

"Well, you can have them if you'd like. I have some more books at the lodge, and giving away a few won't hurt at all."

"Really? You'd just...give them to me?"

"Sure thing kiddo," Matthew gave a genuine smile. "And here are some peaches for the pregnant lady. I know she needs this the most. We have tons of food back at the lodge and I was going to head up there. You and your whole group can come if you'd like."

"We have to decide as a group," Clementine replied.

"Heh. I'm sure I know what they'd choose," Matthew smirked, crossing his arms. "It's okay. It's all on us. We have a family living up there with us and they could use some company."

"You do? Who are they? By any chance, is her name Christa?" Clementine looked hopeful.

"Hm? No. I don't know any Christa."

That shattered Clementine's hopes.

"The woman's name is Sarita and the man's name is..."

The door opened as they looked to see Alvin. "Hey. Just wanted to see if..."

"You don't have to say anything. Take this to the pregnant woman. She and her baby needs it more," Matthew replied.

"Her name's Rebecca," Sarah helpfully said.

"Right, Rebecca. Sorry about that."

"It's no problem," Alvin smiled. "Thank you. We really appreciate it."

Alvin headed out as Matthew took out two more cans of peaches. He looked at the drawing and couldn't help but to think it looked like Clementine.

"Hey, this looks just like you," Matthew smiled, showing the can to her.

Clementine was unimpressed.

"Aw, it does look like Clementine," Sarah giggled. "It's so adorable!"

"Adorable, right," Clementine shook her head.

Matthew chuckled.

"Oooh, what's this?" Sarah asked as she reached for something on the desk.

"Hey, hey, that's my survival knife. That things very sharp, be careful," Matthew warned.

Sarah immediately unsheathed the sword and looked at it like it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Clementine gently took the knife away from Sarah. "Sarah, if you're dad found out, you'd be in big trouble. This knife is really dangerous."

Clementine swung the knife.

"Though it feels perfect in my hands," Clementine said as she sheathed the knife and gave it back to Matthew.

He thanked her. "That was a gift from Walter. He told me to carry this when I went to the station alone, because it was too dangerous."

"Walter? Who's Walter?" Sarah asked.

"He's one of my best friends..." Matthew lovingly smiled. "Anyways, that's all we have here. We should head out."

Just as they were about to exit, they heard voices of panic from outside.

"Clementine, Sarah, get out here!" they heard Lee's voice as they all rushed out.

They saw the horde drawn by Nick's gun approach them, all crossing the bridge.

"No...way," Matthew's eyes widened as he readied his gun.

"We have to go," Carlos ordered.

"Get up there," Matthew told them. "We have a lodge with working electricity and water, okay? Tell Walter that Matthew sent you here and he'll understand. If he doesn't believe you, show him this sword."

Matthew handed the sword to Clementine as he aimed for the walker's.

"You're coming with us!" Lee said.

"I have to fend these walkers off here," Matthew told them. "Once I take care of this wave, I'll join you."

"Let's go," Carlos said as he and the group began walking up.

Nick looked at Matthew for a second then shook his head, quickly heading down to join Clementine, Lee, Pete, and Luke.

"Look, I almost shot you out of misunderstanding and I will not let you fend them alone. I'll help you," Nick said, shocking Pete.

What was happening? This boy was actually taking responsibility for his actions? Pete gave a very small smile, but immediately wiped it off. In a long while, Pete actually felt proud of his nephew.

"The rest of you go up there," Nick said. "Find safety...hurry."

"If you're staying, I'll help you fend them off also," Lee replied. "It won't go well with my conscience, knowing I left two people out to die. Clementine, Pete, Luke...go up there."

"No, I am not," Clementine firmly said as she took out her pistol and aimed it at the walkers.

Luke and Pete did the same, with their guns drawn.

"You know, I very much loved doing things alone, but having you guys right here to help me fend of the walkers...it kinda warms my heart," Matthew wistfully thought. "Let's kill those assholes and make sure they don't eat any person again."

As the walkers, came, the group fired their guns, picking off the walkers one by one. Clementine and Matthew were in the front, crouching, while Lee, Pete, Luke, and Nick were in the back.

"Aim for the head," Pete said.

No one else said a word while they silently took on the walkers. Walkers after walkers fell from the bullets. Despite countless bodies going down, the walkers seemed to keep coming.

"They're never ending. I'm almost out of bullets," Pete growled. "Damn lurkers."

"If you're out, head up," Matthew said. "You've done the best you could."

Silence once more as the guns fired. Pete ran out of bullets, followed by Nick, then Luke, then Clementine.

"How much bullets do you have left Lee?" Matthew asked.

"I have a few more shots left," Lee replied. "The walkers seem to be dying down. Rest of you, get to safety. You've done the best you could."

"Yeah, hurry on up there. Don't keep your friends waiting. We'll meet you up there, go!"

"Thanks," Nick said then hurried up.

Luke, Pete, and Clementine refused to go up there without Matthew and Lee. Eventually, both of them ran out of bullets, but there were only six more walkers coming after them. Matthew reached for his knife, but realized he gave it to...

"Oh, I have it," Clementine said, taking out her knife. "And I'm not with them...oh shoot."

Lee's eyes widened. "Your friends won't kill any of them, will they?"

"Everyone's on edge lately. As long as your group doesn't intimidate them or pose themselves as a threat, you should be fine," Matthew told them.

Luke cursed. "We know how likely that is. Let's hurry and take down the walkers and join them."

"Aim for the legs," Clementine told them. "When they're down, stab them in the head."

"That's actually a damn smart way to rid them," Pete nodded, impressed. "None of you get bit now, you hear me?"

Clementine approached a walker as she kicked his legs as he fell to the floor, growling. Clementine stabbed the knife through his head and easily took the knife out. The other seven walkers were easily dealt with as they looked at the pile of bodies on the floor.

They took a few minutes to catch their breath.

"Whew, thanks guys for your help. Now way I could have taken them down on my own. We have bullets up there, which you can use to replenish your ammunition. Now, let's go," Matthew said.

With Matthew leading the way, they headed up to hear noises.

"Drop your damn weapons down!" they heard a voice.

"You drop yours motherfucker!"

"Woah, woah!" one tried to placate.

"What the heck is going on here?" Lee asked as he immediately raced in, the rest swiftly following.

Lee made his way to the front, to see two men and a woman. He immediately recognized one man.

"No...fucking...way," Lee said, his mind in total shock. He had trouble processing the person in front of you. "Kenny...is that...you?"

Clementine peeked her face out in front of her group and stared at Kenny also. "K-Kenny?"

"Lee? Clementine?" Kenny lowered his gun, eyes wide open. "Holy shit...if I'm dreaming, someone please slap me."

"Do you know these people?" Carlos asked Lee and Clementine.

"Hey Walter, these guys are friendly. They're with me," they heard Matthew's voice as he too headed to the front.

"Matt," Walter gave a wide smile.

"KENNY!" Clementine said, a wave of emotions flooding over her as she embraced Kenny in a tight hug.

Kenny had some tears falling down his face, seeing them both. Once he released Clementine, he looked at Lee.

"I thought you..." Lee began.

"Died? Ha, no, I'm still alive and well."

Lee and Kenny also shared a sweet hug, with more tears falling from Kenny. Lee also had a few tears. Clementine inwardly cursed when she felt a few tears also come out of her eye. She wiped it away immediately.

"Come, let's talk inside," Kenny gave a huge grin.

"Great, I just started dinner," Walter smiled. "All of you, come in. Matthew, it's so good to see you again."

"Right back at ya Walt," Matthew replied.

"Are you...sure?" Carlos hesitated. "After how this went down?"

"Please, it's going to storm soon. I insist, come in," Walter told all of them as they all headed inside.

Everyone besides Lee, Clementine, and Kenny who were still in shock.

"You're so much older now, Clem," Kenny smiled. "How much time has passed by? I knew I'd see you both one day. I knew you'd save Clementine...I knew you'd still be together."

"We are still together," Clementine nodded, "And we found you also. This is so wonderful..."

"It is Clem. It is..." Lee said.

"You've always been there for me Lee. Even though I gave everyone a hard time, you didn't give up on me. I always thought about you and Clem, and now, it's a dream come true. You did it. You saved her."

"That's right Ken. This is such a beautiful day," Lee nodded. "Why don't we head in and...catch up?"

"Yeah, let's do that."

Clementine, Lee, and Kenny walked in together as a reunited, reinvigorated group. This day had been total exhaustion, but was all eclipsed by this beautiful reunion.


	9. Catching Up

**Here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy. Sorry for it being shorter than other chapters. It's pretty hard trying to update once a day.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Catching Up**

Clementine and Lee couldn't help but to feel even fuzzier when they saw the inside of the ski lodge. It was very spacious and beautiful. There were Christmas decorations around the place along with a Christmas tree.

Nation flags were also hung in the air.

"Kenny and Sarita have been staying with us for several weeks," Walter smiled at everyone. "This was a ski lodge obviously, so we have plenty of food everyone of you. And believe it or not, we get some power from the wind turbine up front."

"Wow, it's really bright here," Sarah gasped. "It's so beautiful."

"We usually turn off all the lights to avoid drawing any kind of attention, but we just couldn't help it with these decorations," Matthew smiled. "Sometimes I even wonder why I choose that station house over staying here."

"Yeah, we're all wondering that," Pete said, looking around the house. "Looks safe enough. You can stay here for months and not be tired of this place."

Walter just smiled.

"Walt's a smart son of a bitch, this guy," Kenny chuckled, "He makes a mean can of beans also."

"Well, I should get dinner started, then," Walter smiled. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable? You can leave your stuff to the side over there."

The hell we will," Rebecca crossed her arms.

"Easy Rebecca. I know and trust Kenny, so you don't have to worry about anything being stolen. I can promise you that," Lee smiled. "It's okay, really. And Kenny, I vouch for these people also. They're really good people and took Clementine and I in."

There was a stare down between Kenny, and Nick and Rebecca.

"Put your gun down also, man, and we'll follow," Nick told Kenny.

Kenny stared at him, immediately hating him. Kenny thought that this Nick guy was a total asshole, but he knew that if he began riling them up, it wouldn't end well for both of them. If Lee vouched for them, Kenny was cool.

Kenny set his rifle down off to the side. "There..."

The rest set down their stuff also, a little reluctantly. Walter went off to make breakfast as Sarita volunteered to show everyone to their rooms.

"Hey Sarita, I'll show Clem and Lee to their rooms later. Let me catch up with them," Kenny said.

"No problem Kenny," Sarita smiled as she went off.

Kenny led Clementine and Lee to a cozy seat by the fireplace. Clementine couldn't help but to smile at the cozy fire that seemed to invite them in. Clementine immediately took a seat, feeling the heat of the fire warm her chilly body.

"Ah," she sighed in peace.

Kenny chuckled. "How's having a cozy place to stay in once in a while? Sure beats trying to survive outside, eh?"

"Tell me about it. We've done too much moving back then for your boat," Lee said, giving a pointed look.

"Right, it was always the damn boats with me," Kenny said.

"How are you alive Kenny? I thought you were dead?" Clementine asked.

"I am dead. This is all a dream," Kenny replied, with his hands in the air, having a dream like look.

That confused Clementine for a split second as Kenny laughed. "I'm kidding."

Clementine gave him an irritated look.

"Are you still wearing this dirty, old thing?" Kenny asked, pulling down Clem's hat. "It was either that hat, your walkie talkie, or Lee that you hung on to back then."

"Right. My walkie talkie," Clementine said, head down. It was painful. It reminded her of her parents.

Kenny immediately caught on. "Shoot Clem. I'm sorry for bringing that up."

"It's...okay."

"So, what happened Kenny?" Lee asked, changing the subject for Clementine's sake. "After you locked me in, I thought you were overrun by walkers. Glad to know you made it out alive."

"Heh, I thought my life for sure would be over then," Kenny admitted. "Long story short, I got lucky. Real lucky. I then spent most days on my own. It was so boring and I thought I'd die alone. Every night I always thought about you both. I was wondering if you guys were alive...if Lee had saved you...and today, here we meet. God, it's like a blessing. First I meet my girl Sarita..."

"Congrats Kenny," Lee smiled. "You deserve her."

"I sure hope so," Kenny admitted.

"How are you catching up?" came Sarita's voice as she appeared behind Kenny and put her arms on him.

"Clem. Lee, this is Sarita, my girl. Ain't she beautiful?" Kenny asked with love in his eyes.

"She sure is," Lee agreed.

"Mhm." Clementine also did.

"Oh stop it Kenny," Sarita blushed. "Nice to meet you Lee, Clementine. Kenny talked to me about you two. He always said you guys were like two peas in a pod."

"That's accurate," Clementine nodded as Lee chuckled.

"Hopefully she didn't say anything negative to you about us?" Lee asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, he did say you had a hot temper," Sarita chuckled.

"Hot tempered, huh?" Lee asked, crossing his arms.

"Hey, listen man..."

Lee chuckled. "It's all good Kenny."

"We'll have all the time in the world to catch up with each other, but first, we must move some supplies in, that are outside. Storm will hit soon," Kenny told Lee and Clementine.

"Awesome. Let's do this," Clementine grinned.

"Aren't you an enthusiastic one?" Kenny asked. "You sure haven't change last I met you."

"She's grown into someone much more tougher," Lee smiled. "She's been a huge help throughout and I'm really lucky to have her with me."

"You really think it was luck?" Kenny asked.

"If I hadn't been in that police car when it all started, I'm sure I wouldn't have ended up in Clementine's backyard. I'm also lucky that the crash didn't kill me," Lee admitted.

Clementine looked at the ground, remembering the time she saw him with his leg busted up. When he had called to her for help, she just turned around and walked away. She felt really bad, thinking about it, now. She had told Lee this once, but Lee reassured her that it was alright, and that anyone in their right mind wouldn't trust someone who they didn't know at all.

"And it was luck that I met you and Clementine," Kenny smiled. "Many things could have gone wrong with Katjaa and Duck if you weren't here. I mean...it's already been bad..."

Clementine shook her head. This topic was depressing her so much.

"I miss Duck," Clementine admitted. "He was fun to be around..."

Kenny wistfully thought about the past. "He liked you to Clementine. He told me how fun you were and...hell."

Kenny stared at Clementine.

"Duck told you that?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, he did. He told it to me secretly," Kenny replied. "I thought my boy sometimes bugged Clementine a little too much, but he's been doing that to hold her attention. I'm sorry if I sometimes pushed you too much."

"It's fine Kenny. He kept me company. If he wasn't there, my life would have been much more boring."

"Good. I'm glad he helped in some way," Kenny sighed. "No time to dilly dally. We should head out."

"You need help?" Luke asked, with Nick and Pete in tow.

"Yeah, help would be great," Kenny told them. "We're moving some stuff outside in here because of the storm that's going to hit. Clem, I'd actually like you to go to Walter and help him with dinner if you can. That'd be great."

Clementine looked hesitant, but she didn't want to disappoint Kenny. She could stay a few moments away from Lee. "Okay."

"Great, thanks Clem."

Kenny, Luke, Lee, Nick and Pete headed outside while Clementine headed out to help Walter.

"Carlos, do you mind if I steal Sarah for a bit?" Sarita asked.

Sarah looked excitedly at Carlos and he thought about for a moment. "Stay in sight sweetie."

"Yes!"

Sarita chuckled at Sarah's enthusiasm as she led her away.

Clementine headed to Walter as he was boiling something in a pot. It smelled like peaches and beans. In Clementine's mind, that did not work at all. Perhaps it would taste different.

"Glad you're here to help me Clementine," Walter smiled. "So, how do you know Kenny? He's helped Matthew and I when we were in a bind times ago."

"We're...old friends," Clementine replied. "Well, Kenny and Lee were friends. I knew him when I was eight years old. I didn't interact much with him. I interacted with his son, though."

Walter smiled sadly. "Ah. Connecting with people is so important. I don't know what I'd do without Matthew."

He added some salt into the stew, then he continued speaking. "Gosh, you remind me of my students. I can't imagine what it's like growing up in the middle of all this. It must be tough for you, huh?"

"It was, but most people underestimate me. That, and Lee thought me a lot to survive," Clementine replied.

"That's great. You always need the proper guidance before you can fully grasp something and go do it on your own. As for people underestimating you, you've used that to your advantage, right?"

"Sometimes."

"Smart girl," Walter smiled as he took a sip of the meal he created. "Mmm. It's almost done. Would you do the honor of tasting the first course, madam?"

Clementine peered in the stew. It did not look yummy. But she knew better than to judge a book by its cover. She had to try it first, but would it be worth it? She didn't want to be disrespectful.

"Um...sure. What is it?"

Walter smiled. "It's called 'Le Walter Surprise'. An autumnal legume salad with a peach roux. It's peaches and beans, it's all we got. Hmmm, striking resemblance."

Walter extended a peach can that the girl's face on it. It was the same can Matthew had made comparisons too.

"Matthew said the exact same thing at the lounge," Clementine told him.

"Did he now?" Walter chuckled. "I don't blame him. You really do look alike."

Walter handed Clementine a spoonful as she took a bite. She expected to recoil, but her eyes immediately widened. It tasted so good. She wanted more.

"You want more, don't you?" Walter asked. "That's what happens when people first try this. Only for you, I can give you one more scoop."

Walter handed Clementine the food as she greedily took it down.

"Relax. Don't give yourself a stomachache," Walter smiled. "There will be plently to go around. Why don't you take a look around this lounge? I'm sure there will be things for you to do here."

"Thanks."

"Anytime Clementine."

Clementine left to explore the lounge. The first thing that caught her eye was a CD player, with a Cd on the bottom. She hadn't seen those in a long, long time.

"Crazy," she said, picking up the CD. "Cousin Jared's concert. October 13th, 1998."

She put the CD in and pressed the play button.

Clementine heard clapping, which she assumed was the audience. She heard the soft instruments play as it brought a sigh to her mind. She sat down for a few moments, listening to the music that filled her ears. Her eyes wandered over to two sets of dinner tables and it brought her back to school. They used to have tables like that outside for lunch. She shook her head as she turned her attention to Sarah and Sarita who were decorating the Christmas Tree. Sarita was softly humming.

The decorations were coming along very nicely.

"What's the song you're humming?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, it's very nice," Clementine smiled, approaching them.

"Hey Clementine!" Sarah grinned. "So glad you're here with us!"

"Yes, welcome Clementine," Sarita warmly told her. "The song I was humming is Good King Winceslas. It's my favorite Christmas song. It's about a king who brings food to a poor man. The king and his servant march all night through a cold winter storm to reach the man. The storm is very strong. After a long time, it gets so cold the servant can't go on. But the king tells his servant to just step in his tracks. "Mark my footsteps, good my page. Tread thou in them boldly. Thou shalt find the winter's rage, freeze thy blood less coldly.""

"...I don't get it," Sarah replied.

Sarita chuckled as Clementine cracked a smile. "It means that doing good things for people can be good for you, too."

"But the servant wouldn't have been out there in the first place, if the king hadn't made him..."

"Good point."

"Well, this song reminds of Lee," Clementine piped up. "When I was in trouble, he dropped everything to help me. He walked through storms along the way like the king did to reach the poor man."

"Woah, he walked through storms? That's cool! He didn't shocked or anything?" Sarah asked.

Clementine couldn't help but to wonder if she was joking or if she meant it. "By storms I mean he had to go through many tough spots to reach me."

"Lee seems like a very good person," Sarita smiled.

"He is," Clementine nodded. "He sure is."

"You can help us string these decorations up," Sarita told Clementine.

Clementine took a red ornament and placed it on a tree. They worked in silence for a few moments until Sarita turned to Clementine.

"Clem, you've known Kenny for a long time. It must be nice to see him again," Sarita said. "When I met him...he's so different know."

"Did he tell you about what happened before?" Clementine asked.

"No," Sarita shook her head. "He doesn't say anything about before. Everything usually takes a little coaxing these days."

"Some of his past was kinda tragic," Clementine sighed. "It was very rough for him. Hopefully he'll tell you soon."

"There's no pressure of course," Sarita smiled. "People have the right to their information. I'm not going to pry or anything. I'm sure he'll tell me when his time is right. Anyways, we're done. All we need is a topper. Clem, do you mind heading upstairs an finding a topper please?"

"You got it."

Clementine headed up the stairs to find Carlos, Rebecca, and Alvin talking with each other.

"Hi."

"Hey there Clem," Alvin smiled. "This place is really cozy. I'm sure we could stay here a few days."

"We can't take any chances," Carlos countered. "You know Carver. He's probably headed up this way now. We must leave tomorrow at dawn. Clem, you've talked with Walter, right? Did he say anything?"

"He didn't say much. He just talked about dinner," Clementine replied.

"Ooh, sounds nice," Alvin grinned. "Can't wait for dinner. Look, we have to stay here for tonight. We can decide as a group what to do tomorrow, but not today. Becc needs some rest as do all of us."

"I'm going to go find Luke," Carlos said.

"He's outside with Nick, Pete, Lee, and Kenny," Clementine told him. "I think they're hauling in supplies for the storm that is about to hit."

"A storm?" Carlos asked. "If this place is hit, we won't be able to leave. We have to leave as soon as possible."

"If there is a storm, Carver will be slowed down by it also," Rebecca said. "I just need to rest today, okay Carlos? Oh goodness..."

Are you okay?" Clementine questioned, concerned

"Yeah, I am," she winced. "I just need something to drink."

"I'll be right back," Alvin offered as he walked downstairs with Carlos.

Clementine turned to look at Rebecca to see that she needed a minute alone, so Clementine turned her attention to the boxes on the floor that contained the ornaments for the Christmas tree. There was another red ball ornament, an angel, and a star. Clementine remembered that Sarah wanted an angel up there so she took out the white angel and carefully placed it on the Christmas tree.

"Wow, it's so beautiful," Sarah gasped.

"This has always been my favorite time of the year," Sarita agreed, staring at the angel. "It provides hope...and we definitely need hope at a time like this. Clementine, can you come down here for a split second?"

"Yeah."

She headed down as Sarita pulled her away from the tree. "I just wanted to ask...Does Kenny seem different to you? I didn't know him before and well, I'm curious."

Clementine thought for a while. Did he change? He seemed to have change a little bit from when she knew him. He was much more calm and relaxed now and he actually looked like he was...happy.

"Yeah he seems a bit different...more relaxed," Clementine said.

"I see."

"Well, haven't you three been busy?" Kenny asked as he approached Sarita and gave her a hug.

"We sure have," Sarita agreed, as she lifted the ornament box.

"I got it hon," Kenny approached her.

"I think I can a manage..."

"I said I got it," Kenny firmly said and took the box from her.

"Wow, he's still pretty rough," Clementine whispered to Sarita.

"He always has to play the gentleman...but before I knew him, he couldn't even lift a fly," Sarita reminisced. "Why don't you see if your friends are ready for dinner Clementine?"

Clementine nodded and headed upstairs to see Rebecca still alone, but she had a glass of water in her hand.

"Are you okay?"

"You asked me that a while ago," Rebecca lightly chuckled. "I was just thinking...I don't think I'm ready to raise a child...how can anyone now? Everything is so fucked up...you know? Oh shoot, sorry. I didn't mean to curse in front of you."

"And your baby," Clementine added.

"Right."

"It won't be easy," Clementine admitted. "But you have all of us. We'll all help you."

"That's a really sweet thing to say," Rebecca smiled. "Oh, she's kicking...do you want to have a listen?"

Clementine stared at Rebecca's stomach. Did she just say...kicking?

"Oh um...can I?"

"Of course you can," Rebecca invited.

Clementine lightly pressed her ear on to Rebecca' stomach as she did feel tiny kicks. Clementine's eyes widened. This was pretty cool. Clementine pulled away, smiling at Rebecca. Rebecca smiled back, but instantly, her face drooped and she seemed to be in pain.

"What's wrong?"

"It's not his..." Rebecca blurted out.

"Ex-excuse me?" Clementine asked.

"It's not Alvin's baby..." Rebecca replied, drying a few tears, "I can't tell him because he'll kill me.."

"Then, whose baby is it?" Clementine asked, shocked. "And he won't kill you. How do you even know it's not his?"

"Whose baby is it? I...I can't answer that right now...and I know it's not his because we've been trying for a long time and then he...I don't know Clem..." Rebecca had a really hard time saying this. "I can't believe I'm asking a little girl for advice. But I guess nothing is weird anymore."

"I won't tell a single soul. I promise."

Rebecca smiled at her as she saw Alvin approach. "Now there's my man."

"Hey Becc. Feeling alright?"

"I'm fine you big dope."

Alvin chuckled. "Thanks for staying with her Clementine."

"You're welcome," Clementine replied. "I loved our exchange. I heard the baby kicking."

"You did now, did ya?" Alvin asked. "He's going to be a runner."

"You mean, she's going to be a runner," Rebecca corrected.

"Ah, ah, ah...I know he'll be a boy," Alvin's eyes twinkled. "A father always knows best."

Rebecca had a pained look when Alvin said the word father, but she quickly removed. "I think it's a mother always knows best."

Clementine smiled at their exchange as she heard another set of footsteps. They saw Lee walk up and stand next to Clementine.

"Lee!" Clementine grinned and gave him a hug.

"Hey sweet pea. Sarita told me that you helped with the Christmas decorations. That was really beautiful," Lee complimented.

"Thanks. Sarah loved the angel, so I just decided to go with that."

Lee nodded. "They wanted me to go get you. Dinner is ready."

"Dinner everyone!" Walter called out.

"That's our cue Becc," Alvin said and helped Rebecca walk down. "Thanks Clem. See you down there Lee."

Lee and Clementine waved good bye. Lee knelt before Clementine to her eye level. "How is it here? You like it?"

"I like it a lot," Clementine said. "This beats having to stay out in the woods and look for shelter wherever we can find. This also beats that cabin we stayed in. They have everything here."

"They sure do," Lee agreed. "I hope things aren't too tough on you. Meeting Kenny again and being introduced to Sarita, Matthew, and Walter sure has been a huge day for us."

"I'm just glad to see Kenny again."

"So am I Clem, so am I. We shouldn't keep them waiting. Let's go."

Clementine nodded as she headed down, Lee following her and they came upon the dinner table. Sarita, Walter, Matthew and Kenny were seated at one table while Carlos, Sarah, Rebecca, Alvin, Pete, Nick and Luke were on the other table.

"Hey guys, over here," Lee and Clem heard both Kenny and Luke gesture to sit at their table.

Clementine and Lee looked at each other.

"I hate making these decisions," Clementine sighed.

"Yeah, it is," Lee said as they looked over them. "Who do you want to sit? The decision is all yours."

"Hey, don't pin this one on me," Clementine glared at Lee.

Lee smiled. "We can each sit at a table. I'll sit on Kenny's table and you can keep Luke's table company."

"That sounds good," Clementine agreed wholeheartedly.

"I'll see you later Clem."

"See you."

Their baths diverged as Lee sat across from Kenny. Clementine sat next to Luke.

"Nice choice," Kenny laughed. "It must've been hard trying to decide."

"Here you go," Walter smiled and pushed the bowl to Lee.

"Thank you," Lee said to Walter, looking at Kenny. "Yeah. We knew that choosing a side would make the other side feel neglected, so we decided to split for dinner."

"Hell, sorry for putting you in an awkward situation like that," Kenny apologized.

"Hey, don't apologize," Lee smiled, digging into his food. "Man, this is amazing."

"Right? It's Walter's special," Matthew's eyes twinkled.

"Your girl had the same reaction. She was first hesitant at the look of it, but after she gave it a taste, well that erased all doubts from her mind," Walter grinned. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"So Lee, about Luke...what's with that guy? He in charge? You guys trust him?" Kenny asked.

"Kenny, please," Sarita reprimanded.

"We don't know these people Sarita," Kenny replied.

"They seem nice..."

"Yeah? Gator's seem nice too, until they bite your arm off."

"Good old Kenny," Lee smiled. "You haven't changed haven't you?"

"Darn right I haven't," Kenny replied.

Sarita looked confused as she glanced at Clementine for a second.

"And you haven't seen Lee in a long time too," Sarita said. "No offense Lee."

"None taken."

"Yeah, but when I knew him, he's always had my back," Kenny admitted. "Even though sometimes I was an ass to him, he helped me in many ways possible. I wouldn't know if I could have gotten through without him."

"Ken..."

"Don't say anything Lee. You know it's true."

Lee nodded. "As for Luke. He's a cool guy, yeah. I wouldn't say there's one person in charge there. They hear what everyone has to say and goes by that."

"See Kenny? They are nice people," Sarita said.

"...we'll see," Kenny replied. "About big Al...he said that they were on the run. They can leave tomorrow while you and Clem can stay here. How's that sound?"

Lee looked puzzled. "There's a problem with that..."

"Huh? What do you mean? What is it Lee?" Kenny asked.

"Well..."

While Lee was explaining the situation to them, Clementine was having a conversation with Luke and the others.

"So, what's the deal with your friend here?" Luke asked Clementine about Kenny.

"Yes, we were just talking about this Kenny," Carlos nodded. "What do you make of him Clem?"

"I trust him," Clementine immediately said. "I haven't interacted him much when I was younger, but Lee did a lot. He only told me good stories about Kenny. Though he can kinda have a hot temper, he's really nice."

"I see," Carlos replied.

"Walter was telling us how his family died," Alvin told them. "That can hit a man pretty hard."

"Yeah. He changed a lot after that," Clementine admitted. "He kinda scared me, but Lee helped him and helped him to calm down."

"I'm glad you had Lee in your life," Luke smiled.

"Yeah. I'm always counting my blessings...something which I didn't do when I was young. I'm glad I'm doing it now."

"That's great Clem. That's always a good thing to do when life turns to shit all around you," Pete said, rising up. "That was very good. I've had my fill. I guess I'll be going now. I'll catch you around later."

Sarah, Carlos, Rebecca, and Alvin also finished up and left. That only left Luke, Nick, and Clementine. Soon, they finished their meal as Clementine looked at Lee's table. Walter, Matthew, and Sarita were done, but Lee, and Kenny weren't.

"We can join them," Clementine said, pointing at the other table.

"Sounds good," Luke nodded as the three rose up and went over.

Luke sat next to Kenny while Clementine immediately sat down next to Lee, sharing a smile with him. Nick sat on the other side of Lee also.

"Hey there," Kenny smiled at them.

"Hey," Luke replied.

"Hope you enjoyed the food."

"Oh yeah, it was great. Thank you," Luke said.

"Peaches and beans. Great for nutrition...not too great on the way out though," Kenny joked as he began laughing.

Clementine looked disgusted as did Luke and Nick.

"Gah, come on man...! We're eating," Lee growled.

"Sorry pal," Kenny chuckled. "So, it's Luke and Nick. Luke and Nick...you guys sure do look like a match."

Nick immediately glared at Kenny. "The hell does that mean?"

"Nick, easy," Luke responded, holding hands up.

"I don't mean anything bad by it...you guys just seem like close friends, that's all," Kenny said.

"What's your plan here? Hole up for the winter?" Luke asked.

"Nah...ever heard of a place called Wellington?" Kenny responded.

"Actually, we were headed there when we stumbled upon the cabin," Lee replied.

Kenny's eyes twinkled as he looked at Lee and Clementine with a grin. "There's supposed to be a camp up there, near Michigan."

"Michigan?" Nick asked.

"You got a hearing problem kid? Yeah, Michigan. Think about it...fresh water, lots of land, and cold ass winters so walkers get slow."

"Sounds like bullshit," Nick scoffed.

"Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your deal is, but you're more than welcome to take off in the morning," Kenny erupted.

"Easy Kenny," Lee said as Kenny gave a sigh.

"That'd be fine by me," Nick retorted.

"What's the deal with these guys, Lee? Clem?" Kenny asked.

"Hey, fuck you buddy...!"

"We won't be staying for long," Luke declared.

"They're staying," Kenny said, pointing to Clementine and Lee.

"Wh-? 'Scuse me?" Luke asked with disbelief.

Clementine immediately covered her ears at the arguing.

"Enough," Lee told them. "Come on guys. We can talk about this later. Right now, we shouldn't be fighting. Guys, cool it."

No one spoke a word, but the three, besides Clem and Lee looked at the table in anger.

"Gentleman, there's no need for this," Walter piped in, approaching the table with Matthew.

"There's no use fighting right now," Matthew added. "You're all safe here, okay? Eat up."

Their argument stopped as they silently ate.

"Pass me that can, Duck," Kenny said to Clementine, still angry as he realized what he just said. He immediately gasped as Lee and Clementine looked at him in shock.

Kenny closed his eyes and sighed, shoulders drooping.

"Duck? Who's Duck?" Luke asked, confused.

"Duck is his son," Lee gently whispered.

Luke immediately felt very bad as he looked at Kenny in sorrow. Kenny was shaking head, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall. "I...hell...I'm sorry you guys."

"No worries Kenny, we understand," Luke replied.

Nick didn't say anything as he just stared at his food. Kenny soon excused himself as did Nick, as it was only Luke, Lee, and Clementine left.

"Aw, hell, I'm sorry about what happened," Luke said. "I didn't want to give him any more hard time than he was already going through."

"It's all okay Luke. Nothing you could have done. It was just in that moment," Lee told him.

Luke nodded. "I'm finished. If you'll excuse me."

Luke got up and left, which left the two duo.

"I could see the pain in his eyes Lee," Clementine said. "It hurt me."

"It hurt me too Sweet Pea," Lee replied.

"I remember when you told me Duck got bit. I knew he was going to die and I just felt...really bad," Clementine sighed.

"I know you did Clem, but you can't worry about that now. It's never easy to move on from losing someone you love."

"Yeah...like my parents. I still think about them."

"I'm sorry Clem. Remember that I'm here for you," Lee told her.

Clementine gave Lee a hug as he returned it. After they pulled away, they rose up.

"Excuse me everyone," they heard Walter call out. "May I have your attention for a moment? It's a tradition here that when we have new guests, we sit in a circle after dinner and we play a little breaking the ice game. That way, we can all grow comfortable with each other and begin to trust each other, so I ask that everyone gather around the Christmas tree."

"Break the ice, huh?" Lee asked.

"My teacher made us do that once. She made us tell about ourselves to the other kids, and we had to respond and say something back," Clementine said.

"Did it help?"

"I guess it did."

"Great."

Soon, everyone made their way to the Christmas tree and they sat next to each other. In the circle was Clementine, who was sitting next to Lee, who was sitting next to Kenny, Sarita, Rebecca, Alvin, Carlos, Sarah, Pete, Nick, Luke, Matthew, and Walter, who was also next to Clementine.

"Now, is this really necessary?" Nick asked Walter.

"I just hoped it would help boost our confidence and trust in one another," Walter replied.

"I already know these six people," Nick replied.

"That's great son, now cap it. This man made us food and gave us a place to stay. Where's your gratitude, boy?" Pete asked.

"Whatever," Nick grumbled.

"So, this is going to be really simple. Starting with Clementine, she will give information about herself that she is comfortable with sharing. Only share with what you want. We're not forcing you to give every piece of your life, okay? We can ask questions as they go," Walter explained. "Are you ready Clementine?"

"Why does it have to be me first?" she asked.

"If you don't want to go first, you don't have to. I just suggested it because you were sitting next to me," Walter replied.

"It's alright. I'll do it first."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I guess," she said, looking up at everyone. "Um, I could start now?"

"Whenever you want dear," Walter nodded.

"Okay...well...my name's Clementine, obviously."

That earned some chuckles all around.

"And I was..."

* * *

 **Sorry for those who love action. Carver and his gang won't be here tonight. Tomorrow will be another bonding chapter and after that, maybe he'll come. It's undecided though. I won't be advancing the plot every chapter. I want to make each character bond with each other and show how truly close they are. To those who enjoy that... ;)**


	10. Breaking the Ice Part 1

**Sorry for the wait. Work was getting to me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Let's Break the Ice Part 1 (Clem and Lee)**

* * *

"Sorry Clementine, let me interrupt you for a quick moment. Sarah, I want you to go to your room and stay there. Read some books okay?" Carlos asked.

"Dad, but why?" Sarah whined. "I want to stay."

"No," Carlos firmly said.

"She can stay, Carlos," Walter smiled.

"She can't stay," Carlos shook his head. "Sarah, don't make me ask again."

Grumbling, Sarah headed upstairs, throwing Clementine a sad stare. Clementine looked at her back with pity.

"Harsh on her, don't you think?" Matthew asked. "She's your daughter, Carlos.

"I have my reasons. I'll explain when it's my turn," Carlos replied. "Go ahead Clementine."

Clementine nodded, not sure where to start.

"I was born to Ed and Diana and I lived in a house just outside the city of Atlanta," Clementine began. "It was a suburban residential area and Lee found me when I was in first grade."

"How old were you Clem?" Walter asked.

"I was eight."

"Wow, that's a very young age for you to be involved in all of this," Matthew couldn't help but to say. "How have you been surviving all this time before found you?"

"In my treehouse where the walkers couldn't reach me," Clementine replied.

"Yep. This kid holed herself in a tree house with food and water," Kenny proudly. "I've told Lee this, but she has to be hella tough if she wanted to survive, and she did until Lee came. Isn't that amazing?"

"It is," Luke smiled. "Though, wouldn't she have run out of food at some point?"

"Actually, I was almost out," Clementine said. "Any longer and I wouldn't have had any food or water. I would have run out."

"Kenny and I actually met this young boy at a house," Lee solemnly said as Kenny sighed sadly and looked down. "We met him at an attack. He was a walker, around Clementine's age and he was all withered. He didn't have food or water, so I'm sure dehydration got to him. He was shriveled down and he looked terrible..."

"That would have been me," Clementine stared at the floor, then stared at everyone else, who threw her looks of pity.

"Dehydration and starvation is very terrifying," Carlos said, not having wanted Sarah to hear all this. "The pain that your body goes through, no one should ever have to suffer through that. I'm glad you found Clementine then, at that time."

"I always say that," Lee agreed. "If I wasn't in the police car and if he hadn't hit the walker, I don't know how it would have played out. I know that's bad, because the cop died in the process, but..."

"You were in a cop car? Why?" Walter asked. "Were you cadeting with him?"

Lee shook his head sadly. "I'll explain when it's my turn."

Walter nodded and turned to Clementine. "How was school? What'd you learn in school?"

"It was way too easy," Clementine smiled. "I caught on really quickly at that time and I breezed by it."

"She was talking in full sentences when I met her," Lee chuckled. "I was shocked when she told me she was in first grade. She's a really smart girl."

"That is true," Kenny nodded. "She was a smart kid. She caught on real quickly to what happened in the real world. Not sure if that was good or not at that time."

"Thanks," Clementine replied. "I'm...flattered. In math, we just learned addition and subtraction with some cookies or some items. The teacher thought that it would be more fun that way. Well, I hated it. It was just a waste of time. Just get to the point."

"So, you don't need any visuals or extra things to help you understand?"

"No. To the point, while actually explaining it well would do the job," Clementine said. "In science, we just learned about the weather and the parts of the human body like the ear and the nose and the...brain."

Kenny chuckled. "Hearing you speak about it at this age is so fricking hilarious."

"I remember school," Nick reminisced. "I hated it with a passion."

"You're telling me son...you used to bring home bad grades so much your mom almost gave up on you. She flipped every time she saw his report card. I had to be the one to calm her down," Pete said.

"Yeah, you did," Nick agreed, ignoring the jab Pete had sent his way. He remembered many times when he had brought home D's and F's. It was not a pretty sight. The thought of his mom made him wince. He missed her, that's for sure.

"I remember when I was in school a long time ago," Sarita grinned. "I used to look forward to it every day. While many showed up with tired faces, I would show up with the biggest smile. Of course I made fun of for that, but I didn't care."

"One thing I know is that first grade teachers don't teach their kids what a salt lick is," Lee laughed as Clementine's cheek was tainted with red.

"That...that was three years ago," Clementine replied, embarrassed.

"What happened then?" Alvin asked, curious.

"Nothing," Clementine immediately said.

"We were at the St. John's Dairy when this happened," Lee began. "Clementine knew what a salt lick was and she told me to not lick it. I asked her if she licked it and her response was...'I don't know.'"

That got chuckles from the rest.

"Must've been really salty," Luke chuckled.

"Yeah, it was. It was disgusting," Clem shuddered. "I've learned from my mistakes. Never again..."

"Everyone makes mistakes. The most important lesson is to not make the same mistake twice," Walter smiled. "That's what I always tell my students. You have to make mistakes to become a better person. We wish we can live a mistake free life, but that is impossible."

"You were a teacher?" Lee asked.

"Yes," Walter nodded. "I was a history teacher for middle schoolers. Clementine reminds me exactly of my students."

"Really nice," Lee smiled, having appreciation for teaching. After all, he used to be a professor also at the University of Georgia.

"How does it feel to have school taken away from ya?" Kenny asked. "You know, most kids would be glad if there was no more school, but under this circumstance? They'd be wishing they had school every day."

"A growing girl like her still needs her education," Rebecca said. "I definitely want my kid to have education."

"Yeah, great idea," Kenny sarcastically said. "Why don't we teach Clementine how America was founded while we're busy blowing walkers brains out!"

"Not funny Kenny," Rebecca glowered at him. "I just feel like she still needs to learn in her spare time. It's better than just doing nothing."

"Will you folks be staying here awhile?" Matthew asked. "It'll be very safe here and if you guys decide to stay here temporarily, we can make up a plan as we go."

"We appreciate it, but we must leave as soon as possible," Carlos replied.

"Why do you keep saying that Carlos?" Walter asked.

"I think we're being chased by someone," Clementine said. "This guy named Carver."

"Ah, Carver again, huh?" Matthew questioned.

"You know Carver, Matt?" Walter turned to Matthew.

"I don't know George Washington Carver personally," Matthew joked. "I'm kidding. The Carver they are talking about, I have no idea who he is. I didn't meet him in person."

"Carver's a bad person," Clementine replied. "Well, from what I've heard, he is."

"Oh, that guy is more than a bad guy," Luke shook his head. "He's a tyrant...a sadist. That's why we butted heads. I didn't like the way he was running things and after seeing many people get hurt at that camp I lived in...I didn't think it'd be best for all of us."

"You folks don't need to worry about him here," Walter said. "I don't know your past with Carver, but you are safe here. I can promise you that."

"You don't know Carver," Rebecca replied. "You don't know how damn persistent he is. As we speak, he is making his way up. If he finds us here...he'll...I just don't want to go back. We have to keep moving."

"Easy Becc," Alvin reassured. "Stop straining yourself. Calm down."

Walter and Matthew frowned. Just how bad was this Carver guy?

"You know that this will take forever if we keep this up right?" Nick asked. "I mean, do we really want to talk all night about this?"

"If you don't want to, you can head up and let your lazy ass sleep," Pete growled.

Nick scowled, but didn't say anything.

"Pete, c'mon man," Lee said, felling bad for Nick yet again. "This night is supposed to be about bonding together more. No time for that."

Pete just sighed in response as it was silent was for a while until Walter decided to ask Clementine another question.

"So Clementine, how'd you end up meeting Kenny?" Walter asked. "Kenny, are you comfortable with her sharing this?"

"Hell, as of now, I really don't care," Kenny smiled.

"Well, it was at Hershel Green's farm. Lee and I were sleeping at a stable for the night. The next morning, Kenny woke Lee up," Clementine explained. "I also met Katjaa and Duck that day also."

"What was your first impression of him?" Walter asked.

"I thought he was a nice man," Clementine smiled. "He had a wonderful family."

"I appreciate it Clem."

Clementine smiled at Kenny then immediately wiped her smile off, thinking about Katjaa and Duck. Katjaa had been a wonderful woman, helping her and making her feel comfortable.

"I-I think that's all I'm going to say. Lee can go next..." Clementine said.

"We're not going to force you to continue," Walter replied. "Thanks Clementine for sharing that. Lee?"

Lee thought for a moment. "This all started on my way to jail."

"Jail?" Matthew asked. "You're a nice man. I don't see why you'd be on your way to jail, unless you were cadeting with a police officer or to talk to one of your friends."

"I committed a crime," Lee clarified. "I was on my way to jail for murdering a man."

"Murder?" Rebecca asked. "You didn't tell any of us this!"

"I couldn't bring myself to do it..."

"We were living with a murderer...I can't believe it," Rebecca said, eyes wide. She was beginning to get a bit angry.

"Hey, don't you dare blame him for not telling you any of that. It took a while before Lee was comfortable with sharing this to the rest of us. From being with him, I can say that he is a really nice man and him having to take care of that little girl..." Kenny stated.

"We no longer have to look at our past," Carlos said to Rebecca. "He's been with us and he's been a real help."

"Sorry Lee. I spoke too rashly," Rebecca had to apologize.

"Don't worry about. That should be the normal reaction," Lee replied. "Anyways, the police car hit a walker and the car tumbled down this ditch. The impact killed him instantly and my leg was swollen. I stumbled upon Clem's house asking for help. She contacted me through a walkie talkie and she saved me from her babysitter."

"Woah, her babysitter tried to kill you?" Nick asked. "She coulda thought that you were a thief or something."

"She was dead," Clementine replied. "I think Sandra was bit. She didn't feel well."

"I listened to some voice messages on the phone. Did you get to hear it?" Lee asked.

"What voice message?"

"When I entered your house, there were three messages. She was talking about the outbreak. We were all first oblivious to what was going on and then once the reality set in, that's when things went downhill quickly."

"Back then we didn't even know that everyone of us were infected," Kenny chuckled. "We thought that only the bite did it until that shitbird Ben told us about it."

"Unfortunately some of us had to find out about that the hard way," Alvin shook his head. "It's just crazy."

"This pandemic has shown us what kind of sick twisted people some are," Luke said. "Think ya can name a few? Damn Carver."

"Andy...Danny...Vernon...the list goes on," Lee said.

"And that shitbird Ben," Kenny added.

Lee did not say anything. In a way, Ben did cause the death of Katjaa and Duck. Although he didn't directly do it, he still played a part in it, indirectly. Defending Ben right now could trigger Kenny's emotions and he did not want that.

Clementine on the other hand didn't seem to notice.

"Ben was a good friend," Clementine told Kenny, "He didn't mean some of the things he did or said."

"Since you weren't there when I blew up, I will let that slide, but that dumbass got Katjaa and Duck killed!"

"Clem," Lee firmly looked at Clementine as she sighed and didn't reply to Kenny's comment.

Sarita stared sadly at Kenny. Although Kenny didn't reveal to her the full details, she knew that Katjaa and Duck had been his former wife and son.

"Wait, how did we even come to this conversation?" Nick asked.

"We were talking about how the true colors of people here are being shown after this outbreak," Matthew helpfully replied.

"Right."

"Sorry for the interruptions. Continue Lee," Walter said.

Lee nodded. "After I found Clementine, I asked her to come with me. We left during the day and met two people, Chet and Shawn. We helped them fix their car and they led us to Hershel's farm. We arrived there by night. Shawn then introduced us to his father, Hershel and he fixed my swollen leg and he let us sleep in the barn where another family was there already. That family was Kenny."

"Yep," Kenny sighed. "I woke up to find this man and kid who I thought were father and daughter."

"I also remember Hershel interrogating me. He didn't seem to trust me."

"He asked me if I knew Lee so I told him I did," Clementine smiled.

"That reminds me of how Pete also Clementine if she knew me," Lee chuckled. "And Kenny also...when I confessed to him about going to jail on the day I met Clem, he asked me if it was for touching kids..."

"Hey, I had to make sure, alright?" Kenny asked, rolling his eyes.

"No sweat Ken."

"Why do people ask that?" Clementine asked. "They also ask me if I knew Lee..."

"They have every right to be suspicious," Carlos told Clementine. "I trust Lee now and I know you guys are really close, but it would raise some eyes for some people who'd see a young girl and an older man together who aren't family."

"But why?"

"He could be a pedophile, that's why," Nick shrugged.

"Pedophile?" Clementine asked, confused.

"Language," Pete warned.

"What? I didn't even curse," Nick argued.

"I never said you did. You really should watch what you say in front of a little girl."

"You make it sound like she's never heard a curse or seen some horrible things in her life," Nick rolled his eyes. "Why do we even care what kind of language we speak?"

"..."

"What happened after that?" Matthew asked.

"Well, the next day, we needed to fortify the farms to stop the walkers from coming in," Lee said. "Then, that's when things turned tragic."

"What happened?"

Lee looked down, shaking his head.

"Let me explain this part," Kenny told Lee. "Ok buddy? So, my son Duck was helping Shawn fortify the fence so that the walkers couldn't come in, but then Duck accidentally engaged the tractor it was in and that crushed Shawn's...leg. The walkers grabbed both my son and Shawn and Lee had to choose."

Lee saw that this was hurting Kenny a lot. "Ken, it's okay. I ended up saving Duck and unfortunately Shawn..."

Everyone understood.

"Decisions like those are never easy to make," Carlos sympathetically smiled. "Especially if it involves the life of two people who has the future planned out for them."

"Is there a reason you chose Duck over Shawn?" Luke asked.

"Does that matter?" Kenny retorted. "What's done is done. We don't have to go around asking him why he saved my son..."

"My bad...I didn't mean it like that," Luke replied, raising his hands.

Lee just sighed. He didn't want to answer that question. "That wasn't the only time where I had to make a tough decision. There were many more. Anyways, Hershel kicked us out and then Kenny let Clem and I get on his car. We traveled to Macon and we ran out of gas at a pharmacy. Some walkers attacked us, but we were saved by this woman named Carley. She invited us into the pharmacy where we ran into another group. There were five people in there. It was Carley, Doug, Larry, Lilly, and Glenn."

"So that was your first group then?" Walter asked.

"Second, if you include Hershel and Kenny," Lee replied.

Walter nodded.

"How was that group?" Alvin asked. "Seeing as you none of them with you, I can assume that you guys split up or they didn't make it..."

Lee nodded. "Out of the five, three were killed, one is presumed dead, and one left. Carley was a sweet girl. She was a reporter and she convinced me that I should tell everyone about my past so that it doesn't come out the wrong way. She was shot in the head and killed."

"By who?" Rebecca asked.

"Lilly," Kenny growled. "I never saw eye to eye with that tyrant. She was so quick to point her finger at everyone else. You see, some bandits attacked our camp and because they didn't receive their daily supplies and Lily was hellbent on finding the person who did it...maybe she was right...that shitbird..."

"Ken, relax," Lee sad. "She accused Carley of giving the supplies to the bandits. Carley said that it wasn't her, but Lily didn't believe her. The tipping point was when Carley told Lily to grow up in a pretty cruel way and that's when..."

"That's terrible," Sarita shook her head.

"That sure is," Pete said in disgust. "I'm glad you left her behind."

"Hell, Carley was right. I'm glad you told us about your history," Kenny smiled at Lee. "If I didn't hear from you about what happened, I would have really doubted you."

"It must have been hard to tell everyone what you were going through before," Alvin said.

"Yeah. It was hard. It took strength for me to confess that," Lee chuckled. "Anyways, Doug was a friend of Carley and he was killed by walkers when they broke in. I only had to time to save either Carley or Doug."

"You had to make that decision?" Matthew asked.

"Yep. Again."

"Wow...I don't know how you can choose. If it was me, I'd probably freeze up," Matthew smiled.

"I was frozen for a couple of seconds, but I knew that if I didn't save either of them...it was tragic," Lee admitted. "I told you about Lily. Her attitude was a bit extra. She was in the Air Force and her dad was in the army."

"That Larry was an asshole," Kenny spoke up, "Not only to me, but also to Lee and everyone else in the group besides his own daughter. He was a really toxic man."

"How so?" Carlos asked.

"Outside, we were ambushed by walkers and my son was covered in walker guts. He wasn't bitten...not then," Kenny sighed. "When we entered, Larry was hell bent on throwing my kids out to the wolves. Lee defended my son."

"He scared me," Clementine replied. "He said that once Duck turned, he'd pounce on Katjaa and then sink his teeth into my face."

"That asshole," Luke growled. "The world has enough of men like him."

"How did he die?" Nick boredly asked.

"This happened at the St. Johns farm where they locked us in," Kenny cracked a small grin. "Apparently that asshole has some kind of heart problem and after those cannibals locked us in a room, Larry was freaking the hell out. He dropped down with a heart attack and I was sure he was dead. I knew that if we didn't take care of him, we'd have a six foot walker built like a tank come after us...so I did the only thing that had to be done."

"Seeing Mark legless and seeing Larry getting his head smashed in was the scariest thing I had ever seen," Clementine shuddered. "Well, seeing Sandra deformed like that scared me, but at that time, I was really scared. Lee was there to comfort me though."

Everyone looked at Clementine in sympathy. Carlos was thanking the skies that Sarah didn't have to go through that.

"It's messed up man," Luke shook his head. "To hear a girl say something like that and see something like that...never in a million years, but here we are, the impossible happening."

"You can say that again," Kenny replied bitterly. "I used to watch horror movies and read stories about zombie apocalypse's and then I'd laugh, thinking that it was all fiction and it would never happen in real life."

"No one expected this to happen Kenny," Matthew said. "I wonder how all of this got started. Do you think it's like a virus or parasite that infects the brain?"

"Most likely," Walter sighed. "There's no other way for this to happen."

"Are you sure a dumbass scientist didn't cause this or whatever?" Kenny scoffed. "You've read stories of experiments gone wrong. I won't be surprised if it were one of those dipshits."

"How low can you get, criticizing the white coat heroes?" Rebecca crossed her arms. "Show some respect."

"Respect. Yes...because respect is totally what matters right now," Kenny rolled his eyes. "We can discuss this later. Let Lee finish his story."

"Thanks Ken," Lee nodded. "So after we find the group and get into an argument, Larry has a heart attack which leaves him paralyzed. Lily asked me to find the keys to the pharmacy so after we get the keys, Larry gets better. But before the place fell, Carley and I head out to help Glenn who was siphoning for some gas. We find a woman who was already bitten by her boyfriend and she asked us to give her the gun so she could end her misery."

"Did you do it?" Pete asked, eyebrows raised.

"I asked Carley to give her the gun and she did end her life," Lee nodded.

"That's truly tragic. When you are bitten is the worst because you know you're going to end up as one of them," Walter said. "Most would choose to end their lives then and it hurts me. You can't blame them though...who'd want to reanimate and suffer?"

"Once you die, you die," Kenny said. "It's over. You don't go through, you know...um, how should i put it. You don't..."

"Who knows?" Carlos asked. "Considering you must destroy the brain to kill a walker for good, your soul may still be awake when you're animated."

"That's really terrible," Sarita shook her head. "Suffering is enough, but having to go through being a walker?"

"We'll never know that," Luke said.

"Yeah, it's not like we can ask a walker if they still remember who their family and friends were," Kenny scoffed. "After all, they're willing to eat anyone, so I don't think they have a conscience."

"It may not seem that way, but who knows? Maybe they know who they are going after...they're trying not to, but the brain is wired in a way that they have to continue eating," Matthew countered. "Though I really hope there can be a cure. If there isn't, this whole earth will die out, unless we can fortify a place strong enough that keeps the walkers away."

"But remember that everyone dies," Carlos said. "Everyone is infected...we may try to stop it, but we are only delaying the impossible."

"Look on the bright side though," Nick piped up. "At least animals don't turn when they die."

"That'd be some scary shit right there," Alvin shuddered. "Imagine flocks of undead dogs running at you to tear you apart."

"Alvin, please," Rebecca groaned, closing her eyes.

"Sorry hon."

"Yeah we're lucky that hasn't happened," Kenny agreed. "Humans as walkers we can deal with, but if animals also could turn...we'd be in big trouble, and more if a single bite of the animal can infect you."

The conversation of that ended there.

"You were talking about how the woman shot herself," Matthew helpfully said. "Don't worry. I've been keeping score."

"Heh, thanks," Lee smiled. "So yeah, after we return, the walkers swarm to our area and Kenny gets his van to load us into and we take off."

"Remember how that piece of shit punched you in the face," Kenny growled. "Lee was helping Clementine from the walkers when that asshole Larry punched Lee in the face, leaving him for dead. I'm glad I was there at that time. Walker almost got him."

Lee winced, remembering that punch. It had been real tough.

"I was shocked, scared and angry when Larry threw that punch. I wanted to help out Lee, but Larry pulled me away from him," Clementine angrily said. "He told me that Lee was a bad guy and that he'd get me killed, which is a total lie. I know he'd put his life on the line to help me, a thousand times over."

"Make that a million times," Lee smiled. "Every chance I get if I could save you, I'll do it."

"What if you can't?" Clementine asked. "What if it's in a situation if it's you or me?"

"I'd definitely save you," Lee replied. "Not even going to think on that."

"That's really noble Lee," Sarita smiled.

"This guy is super loyal and he's been a great friend," Kenny agreed. "I'm blessed to have him in my life."

"Same to you Ken," Lee said. "Even you Clementine."

"Yeah, me too."

"That's really sweet," Matthew smiled. "It's rare to see a bond and trust that great in a world like this."

"It had to be earned," Lee replied. "Clementine and my bond wasn't this great when we first met."

"When we first met, I was dead set on finding my parents," Clementine explained. "I saw Lee as a guardian until then, but as we went together and he saved me and helped me throughout my life, and when I figured out my dad was no more, I looked to him as a fatherly figure more and more."

"Clementine, a quick question about you I couldn't help but to wonder," Luke said as Clem turned to him with curiosity. "Seeing you, it looks like you've got guts. You're a brave girl and you are tough, but other times I see a quiet, caring girl who has a heart for others. What's your real personality like? How would you describe the real you?"

"That's actually a good question," Lee smiled. "She adapts to the situation. She knows when to be serious and when to be laid back. She's really good at reading situations."

"Hey, I was asking Clementine, but thanks for your input I guess?" Luke shrugged.

Lee chuckled and turned to Clementine.

Clementine thought that Lee was asking her to defend him.

"Back off Luke," Clementine replied. "What he is saying is true."

"No Clem, I didn't mean it like that when I looked at you," Lee said. "I wanted you to give your answer."

"Oh...sorry then."

"It's okay kid."

"It's also that I have Lee in my life," Clem admitted. "If I had lost him, I probably would have been in deep sorrow, but over time, I probably would have hardened my emotions. It wouldn't have turned out well for me."

"I can agree with that," Kenny muttered. "Clementine and Lee can speak it, but after losing Katjaa and Duck, I went through change. Clementine, I'd like to apologize if any of my violent tendencies scared or scarred you."

"It kinda had, but I forgive you," Clementine smiled at Kenny. "Going through what you went through, I can't imagine it. Why aren't you apologizing to Lee though?"

Kenny chuckled.

"He doesn't have to," Lee chuckled. "I don't take things personally. It's fine Kenny."

Lee then turned to Matthew. "You left off at the part where Larry punched you in the face."

"Right," Lee laughed. "After that we escaped to this drafty motel. They had electricity and some food. Things went well for three months. We gained a new addition to our group, Mark. He was invited in by us, but Lily only had him in because he had food for us. We were running pretty low on food and on some days, some of us didn't get to eat. Mark and we were out hunting when we heard cries for help. There were three people there named Ben, Travis, and their teacher David. He had his foot stuck in an altered bear trap with no escape latches. The walkers were coming so we had to think fast. We cut his leg's off then returned to the motel. He didn't make it. He lost too much blood."

"One of the dangers of doing that," Carlos nodded. "Bleeding out is the common cause of death. Your body goes into cardio shock and that brings death. Unless you have a tourniquet or something that stops the bleeding immediately, you risk losing a lot of blood."

"Exactly how he died," Lee sadly said. "We didn't even know that death caused you to become a walker and Katjaa was attacked and almost bitten."

"But Lee saved her," Kenny replied. "Another instance when he saved my wife's life."

"What about the other two kids?" Rebecca asked.

"Ben," Lee began looking at Kenny cautiously, "he came with us and stayed with us, but Travis unfortunately was eaten by walkers."

"Is that Ben the..." Luke began.

"The shitbird? Yeah," Kenny nodded. "That's exactly him. And Lily wasn't happy about bringing in more mouths to feed. She wanted them left out to fend for themselves which I should've agreed on..."

"Kenny, stop," Lee said, looking dead at Kenny. "After that Lily was mad that we brought in more mouths to feed that she handed me four pieces of food to feed for ten people. It was a tough decision."

"Who'd you choose to feed?" Pete asked, raising his eyebrows.

"The two kids definitely," Lee immediately said. "They were the main priority."

"Admirable," Rebecca nodded.

"I offered to the other two women in our group, Carley and Katjaa," Lee continued, "But they both declined. I gave one to Lily also because I realized how tough it was being in her shoes. Although she may have had an attitude, managing the group required patience and thinking. I gave the last food to Kenny."

"You could have eaten the food yourself, but you didn't."

"Hell, there were people who have gone longer without food than me. I sure didn't need it," Lee replied. "I'm sure anyone would do it."

Lee didn't want to talk about this any longer. He didn't want people calling him noble and admirable. It was his duty to look after the others.

"Anyways, after the attack, that Carley found two men approaching us. They were Danny and Andy St. Johns," Lee continued on.

"Not those two," Kenny growled. "We should have listened to you Lee. We should have stayed at the motor inn. Going hungry for a while does that to you I guess."

"Lee suggested to stay at the inn?" Alvin asked.

"Yeah," Kenny nodded. "He didn't like the two, but the others, me included were dead set on going, so we put it to a vote and ended up going..."

Clementine shook her head, remembering what happened. She was hungry, even though he gave her an apple. She was foolish and only cared about food. That's why she told Lee that she was very hungry. Oh how she could replay those events again.

"It is indeed easy to look back and wish that we could restart a chapter of our lives, but remember that back then, we didn't have any knowledge of what the future held," Walter told them. "It's easy to moan and say we should have done this and that, but how is it possible when we didn't know what was even going to happen? You need to accept the past and strive on making decisions for the present and the future."

"Walt's right," Matthew nodded. "What's done is done. You can regret, but it'll be impossible to change what happened. You can't let regret tear you up. You learn from your mistakes."

Walter held Matthew's hand which Clementine noticed.

"Um, are you guys..."

"In a relationship?" Walter's eyes twinkled. "Yes we are."

Clementine stared at the two. This was the first time she had heard of this kind of relationship.

"Huh?" Clem asked, obviously confused.

"It's okay Clem," Lee smiled, trying to detach Clementine from the subject. "Once we moved to the farm, well, you heard what happened there."

"Cannibals," Alvin bluntly said.

"Cannibals?" Sarita asked. "They ate humans?"

"Well, kinda," Lee winced. "Their mentality was that they shouldn't waste so they picked off injured people and used their body as meat to eat. While Mark and I were out scouting, he got shot with an arrow by bandits who had a feud with them. The St. John's used that opportunity to cut Mark legs off and serve them to us to eat at the dinner table."

"Those monsters," Rebecca shook her head. "That's just taking it too far."

"When I exposed their lies, they knocked me out. I'm not sure how they got the others in that meat locker."

"With their guns drawn, they led us in," Kenny explained. "You should've seen Lee when one of those turds roughly grabbed Clementine by the hair."

"He was scary," Clementine shuddered. "His eyes promised something even worse than death."

"He couldn't do anything. If he did, they would have shot each and every one of us," Kenny told Clem. "In case you were hurt when Lee couldn't help you."

"I wasn't hurt," Clementine replied firmly. "He's done all he could do. And we were in the locker when Larry had a heart attack and he had to be..."

The others nodded in understanding.

"How'd you get out?" Walter asked. "I'm sure it was locked tight."

Lee looked really guilty at that. How could he explain that he looted Larry's corpse for some change?"

"We found some coins and we unscrewed the AC vent. Clementine was luckily small enough to fit in there so she opened the door for us," Lee said. "Although it was highly irresponsible in some ways...she could have easily been captured."

"That was our only chance of escape though," Clementine replied. "You have to sometimes take risks."

"And that risk paid off," Kenny smiled. "We escaped and Lee laid herd to all three. He also saved my wife and kid in the process and we got out."

"Lee could have easily killed them," Clementine said. "I was impressed when he didn't kill any of them. What happened to Brenda?"

"She got what was coming to her," Lee nodded. "Mark was reanimated and he you know..."

"She definitely deserved it," Nick humphed with a sly grin.

"I gotta agree with you there, son," Pete agreed. "People like them, picking off the weak and feeding them to others is messed up."

"That was quite an adventure," Walter gave a chuckle. "I'm glad you three made it out safe."

"And that's not even half of it," Lee smiled. "There's much more that happened."

"We're all ears," Matthew replied. "Does anyone need a break?"

"Yeah, I need to use the restroom," Clementine said.

"You know where it is, right?"

"Yeah."

"We'll be right here," Matthew gave her a smile.

"Thank you."

Clementine rose and walked to the restroom, but looked at Lee and gave him a smile.

"Actually I'm pretty thirsty," Kenny chuckled.

"Lee should be the one saying that. He's the one who told us most of this," Walter gave a playful grin.

"Hell, who says I can't be thirsty too?"

"You know where the water is, right?"

"Walt, I've been here with you guys for how long?" Kenny crossed his arms.

"I'm just joking Ken."

"Lee, want to come with?" Kenny asked, though it was more of a demand.

"Yeah. Of course."

"Anyone here wants a cup?" Lee asked the group.

"I could use a glass. Thank you," Rebecca smiled.

"I'd like one too Kenny," Sarita also nodded.

"Hell, you got any whiskey there?" Pete asked. "I could use a sip."

"A whiskey won't be a good idea Pete," Carlos said looking at him. "Get both of us a glass of water also please."

"Absolutely," Lee replied.

"Okay, okay, we'll get all of you water. How many of you are there?" Kenny asked doing a mental count. "There are twelve of us, including me, Clementine, and Lee. Carlos, what about your daughter?"

"Right Sarah. I'll go check up on her," Carlos said. "Can you bring a glass for my daughter also? I'll then take it up to her."

"Sure thing Carlos."

With that, Lee and Kenny walked to the kitchen to get the glasses of water. Kenny put out a tray to set the water in as they began filling the cups.

"So, we're finally going to tell them all about our history, huh?" Kenny asked.

"Looks that way," Lee nodded.

"I trust Walt, Matt, and Sarita," Kenny told Lee. "I'm comfortable with sharing it with them. What about the rest? Lee, are you sure it's okay telling it to them?"

"Yeah, it is," Lee immediately replied. "I trust them."

"Okay then. I go by your word. We sure have come a long way together. I really was in depression after everything that happened in Georgia. I'm glad I found Sarita. Although I miss Katjaa and Duck dearly, Rita has been filling the void well. I don't know where I would have been without her."

"You deserve her Kenny. I mean it," Lee smiled. "Katjaa was a really sweet mother and Duck was a really sweet kid."

"Yeah, if he wasn't quacking the entire time," Kenny chuckled. "That kid always had energy. I'll never forget how much you sacrificed for us Lee."

They heard the restroom door open as Clementine exited. Her eyes wandered to the circle and when she didn't find Lee and Kenny, she looked around. When her eyes met Lee and Kenny, she walked over to them.

"How's it going Clem?" Kenny asked as he pulled down on Clementine's hat.

"Will you stop doing that?"

"Not a chance," Kenny laughed. "Gosh, I don't know how much times I've said this, but it's so nice being with you guys again. I almost missed the old days."

"The old days where we were starving and stuff was happening every goddamn day...those old days."

"Hey, I'm just glad to see you both, okay?" Kenny asked giving Lee a playful stare. "Look at what we have now! Wind turbines for the energy...Walter's delicious food, a cozy fire, a cozy place to stay..."

"We really have it nice here," Lee smiled, staring at the fire that was softly crackling.

"And most importantly, we have each other," Clementine told the two.

"That sure is Clem, sure is," Kenny sighed. "You know, I think we may finally find peace here, or at least for a while."

"I think they're still waiting for the water. We should get to it," Lee said.

"Shit, I almost forgot. Help me deliver the water to our guests, Duck," Kenny quickly said. Kenny didn't seem to realize what he said as he took half the glass and made hsi way to the group who were waiting.

Lee and Clementine shared a look, not sure whether to laugh or feel bad.


	11. Break the Ice Part 2

**A/N: Thanks for your support and patience. I appreciate you guys. :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Let's Break the Ice Part 2 (Lee)**

Clementine and Lee returned with the water as they handed it out to the group, earning a thank you from them.

"I will be right back," Carlos smiled at them, "Let me go grab this glass of water to Sarah. Clementine, would you like to come with me?"

"Can I?" she asked as she looked at both Lee and Carlos.

"Of course," Lee nodded as Carlos smiled.

"Sure."

Clementine rose up and went with Carlos. "You can start without us."

Carlos nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so continuing on..." Lee sighed. "We made our way to a car that was running. We saw some supplies, food, and medicine that was out there. Some people wanted to take it, but Clementine said that since it wasn't ours and it could be someone else's, she refused. I knew we needed it, but Clementine opened my eyes so I didn't take any either."

"Ah hell," Kenny sighed. "I along with the rest of the group besides Clem and Lee wanted to take it. Shit, at least it wasn't anyone's, right?"

"Actually..." Lee began making Kenny look at him. "The stuff was the stranger's that took Clementine."

"Wait, no shit?" Kenny asked.

"No shit," Lee shook his head. "He confronted me about it, but then told me that he knew I didn't want to take it. Apparently, Clementine had told that to him."

"Another tough decision," Matthew thought. "I mean, you thought that the car was abandoned and you needed the supplies. It's not like anyone put a note saying that it was someone's or anything, so I can't fault you for taking it, Kenny."

"Whenever someone is in these situations, you want to ask yourself, 'What would you have done if it was you?'" Walter asked.

"Hey, we're not here to judge or say anything negative," Luke replied. "I'm not sure what I personally would have done."

"If it were me and I had Rebecca, I might take some medicine for Becc," Alvin said. "This is not the world we used to live in."

"Hell, you're right," Kenny nodded. "It is to survive or don't...if you whine about how something got stolen, you shouldn't have left it unattended in the first place."

"That is not entirely true," Matthew pointed out. "Then to survive would you kill others and steal their stuff? What if a young girl had a ration of food and you needed it more? Would you kill the little girl or steal from her to get the ration?"

"I haven't thought of it like that," Alvin sighed.

"Lily once told me that stealing medicine or stealing food is like someone coming in your room at the middle of the night and slitting your throat. It could indirectly be murder," Lee agreed.

"At this point, I don't know how much our moral choices matter," Kenny unhappily sighed. "It's..."

They heard footsteps as they heard Clementine and Carlos come down with a gentle smile.

"We're back," Carlos smiled and sat back down.

"Hi, we miss anything?" Clementine asked.

"We were just discussing if it was right to take from that car," Kenny said to Clementine. "Remember? The car with a lot of supplies and how you told Lee that you didn't want to steal?"

"Oh yeah, I remember," Clementine nodded. "The stranger drilled me with many questions."

"What did he exactly do to you?" Lee asked. "I didn't have the chance to ask you that."

"He...he tried to fill me with lies," Clementine said. "He once acted really nice. I felt very uneasy at first, but we just talked. He asked me about the car and you guys. He got really mad when he found out that the supplies that were taken were us. He started shouting and talking to his bag...not sure what was in there. He put me in the room and made sure I stayed in there. I couldn't leave without his permission. I once had to use the restroom so I headed out. He caught me and he yelled at me really loudly saying that I can't follow simple instructions. That scared me, but then he always hugged me and tried to comfort me."

"That bitch," Kenny snarled.

"Kenny," Clementine said.

"Hell, sorry Clem."

"He did that to you?" Lee asked.

"Yes."

"Wow...he definitely did not have good intentions," Pete scowled.

"When I sat down to talk with him, he told me his story," Lee said. "He had a wife, son, and daughter. He took his little boy out to hunt but lost him. His wife and daughter tried looking for him but to no avail. When he returned to his car, that's when he found out all the supplies were looted."

"Hell..." Kenny replied, lost for words.

"How irresponsible," Pete shook his head. "Losing a son because that man had no damn responsibility? At least when I take my damn boy, I make sure he comes back alive."

"Responsible my ass," Nick rolled his eyes. "Making me trying to shoot a buck...making me almost shoot you."

"Watch it boy. You completely threw away the instructions I gave you," Pete replied.

"Still...having me shoot a buck? A buck? When I was Clementine's age?"

"Never forced you to do anything son."

"It gets worse from here," Lee began again, interrupting their arguing, "His wife leaves him with his daughter and the stranger finds them as a walker the next day. He then used the old radio from his son to try to get in contact with him, but Clementine's channel comes up, so he begins talking with her. He figures out we stole their supplies and he being stalking us."

"I guess he really wanted to raise Clementine as his own daughter then," Walter replied. "But losing his wife and kids like that would make him very unstable and that's what would make him very dangerous."

"Hell, for all we know, he could've been a pedophile!" Kenny said. "Clem, did he touch you inappropriately?"

"What do you mean, inappropriately?" Clementine asked.

"You know...your er..."

Clementine raised her eyebrows.

Kenny gave a nervous chuckle. "You hear a girl say she witnessed a man's head smashed in, but then you have her innocent in that department."

"Did he touch you, Clementine?" Lee asked.

"I mean, yeah...when he was comforting me."

"How exactly did he do that? Did he make you feel uncomfortable?"

"Yeah, it was pretty uncomfortable. After he yelled at me, he'd kiss my head and say that everything would be okay," Clementine replied.

"That is just creepy," Rebecca shook her head. "He barely knew him and he does that? Did you ever do that Lee?"

"The closest was when I hugged Clementine after we reunited, but I never kissed her at any point or time," Lee said.

"Yep. That man is crazy. What happened to him? I assumed you..." Rebecca began.

"Yeah. Clementine hit him over the head with a glass bottle and I tackled him to the ground and strangled him," Lee explained.

"A bullet in the head?" Luke asked.

"Nah. Monsters like him don't deserve that," Lee replied. "When he told me the story of his life, I felt sympathy for him, but it all went away when he said he'd kill Clementine himself than let her leave with me."

"I was angry when I heard that too," Clementine angrily spoke.

"My sympathy for him went down the drain," Sarita said, which shocked Kenny, Walter, and Matthew.

"Damn Rita. First time I've heard you talk like that," Kenny replied. "And you didn't even curse and you're shocking us. Do you know the one thing that would shock me the most? If Clementine cursed."

"I would never swear," Clementine told Kenny.

"We'll see about that kid. Let's see what happens when you stub your toe or something," Nick chuckled. "You'll hear shit endlessly streaming out of your mouth."

"Hey..." Clementine reprimanded.

"Shit, sorry...I mean, shit," Nick grinned.

Clementine glared at Nick. "You really should learn to watch your language..."

"Clementine. Nick's a grown man," Lee said.

"He sure doesn't act like it," Clementine smirked.

"Ha, that's hilarious," Luke chuckled.

"Yer darn tootin'," Pete laughed.

Nick crossed his arms but gave Clementine a grin.

Lee shook his head and sighed, but couldn't help feeling proud. Clementine surely grew well. He didn't want her mouth getting her into trouble. He'd have to talk about that with her later on.

"Matthew?" Lee asked.

"Yes?" Matthew asked, but realized what he was asking about. "Right...you were at the part where you took that man's supplies."

"Right," Lee nodded. "We return to the inn and things are tense there, but we're safe. Lily is still recovering from losing her father. Kenny and I raid the pharmacy again. Going to the pharmacy, we see a woman screaming for help with the walkers over her. We could either save her or let her take the walker's attention and get items from the pharmacy."

"Another tough choice. Man, your life is riddled with them," Walter replied. "But all our life is riddled with choices. I'm guessing you guys left her to die and took everything in the pharmacy?"

"Man, why would you assume that?" Lee indignantly replied

"Oh, is it that obvious?" Kenny boredly asked. "Look, if it weren't the apocalypse, I'd find many things wrong with it, but we live in a different world now, and I'd like everyone to look at it like that."

"You expect us to feel safe around you after you started waving the gun at and us and tell all these stories so nonchalantly?" Rebecca asked.

"Hell, I'm not expecting anything."

"That woman in a way helped us," Lee said. "It pains me to say it, but she might have saved our lives."

"And that shitbird tries to kill us," Kenny added.

Clementine looked at Kenny with a little bit of frustration. Did he have to bring him up every single time? She knew that Ben did not have evil intentions and hearing Kenny constantly say that about Ben made her a bit annoyed. She immediately removed that look.

"We came back with the medicine and Lily pointed out that someone has been stealing from our group," Lee replied. "And Kenny, please..."

"Don't talk about Ben like that," Clementine said, shocking Kenny. "I know you're angry with him, but it...it kinda kills me when I hear you talking like that so please..."

Kenny stared at Clementine and sighed. "Alright, Clem. I'll try my best not to bring up that shi- I mean, that kid up."

Clementine had a genuine smile as Kenny couldn't help but smile back. It was a rare thing to have Clementine give you a genuine smile.

"So the thief was that Ben kid?" Luke asked. "I'm assumin'."

"Yeah, he was," Lee nodded. "But I guess he had his reasons. I found that someone, I didn't know who at that time, was stealing our medicine and giving it to the bandits. I found the supplies just outside of the motel. I took it back and showed it to Lily. By taking it to Lily, it meant the bandits didn't receive that supply so they raided our camp. They held all of us besides Lily and me at gunpoint. I headed out and tried to strike a deal with them. It worked for a bit, but they grew paranoid and threatened to kill all of us. That's when Carley shot a bandit in the head. Everyone ran for cover and Kenny went to fire up the RV and we held back the bandits successfully. We all made it to the RV."

"That's a relief," Matthew sighed. "Clementine, what were your thoughts when that happened?"

"Scared," she gave a blunt reply.

"Do you mind explaining Clementine?" Carlos asked.

She nodded. "I thought I was going to die, which is the case every time we were attacked by walkers or something like that. Lee made sure he took care of me though. He directed me and helped me and we made it, but...unfortunately..."

Clementine looked at Kenny as he looked down.

"My kid got bit," he whispered.

"By...walkers?" Nick asked.

Kenny wanted to give a sarcastic retort, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

"The noise drew the walkers," Clementine explained. "It was the bandits and the walkers we had to deal with and yeah..."

"Man, did your wife get bit too?" Luke asked.

"Only Duck."

"Then, how did she-"

"Luke," Clementine said looking at him. "Please."

"Shoot, sorry Kenny."

Kenny just waved his hands telling Luke that it was okay.

"We were all in the RV when Lily began questioning us," Lee continued. "She was hellbent on finding out who the thief was. She accused Carley. Apparently, she had some kind of animosity to her and then she lashed out on Ben. The RV ran over a walker and we had to stop. Lily interrogated Ben and Carley and it all peaked with Carley telling her to grow up. After Kenny dealt with the walker, she was shot in the head, so we left her out in the road and left."

"I don't have any sympathy for a girl like her," Pete said.

"She lost her father Pete," Alvin defended the girl. "Lee, you said that she had a hard job being the leader, which is true. As the leader, you must please your people and do what's best for them. If something goes wrong, the leader is the first one who gets blamed and then her father being dead and all, I feel for the girl."

"I get what you're saying Alvin," Keny nodded in agreement. "But with that kind of behavior, who knows what she could have done to us? By killing someone else just because they told you to grow up...it wasn't safe having her in our group. I mean, it's unfortunate she lost her father, but we don't need that kind of behavior."

"If we had someone like her in our group, I'd definitely throw her out," Rebecca crossed her arms. "I agree with Kenny on this one."

"What's your take on this Clementine?" Carlos asked. "Did you think she deserved to be tossed out?"

"At first no," Clementine replied. "She was a good person to me and she protected me so I was a bit conflicted, but she deserved it."

She looked at everyone as Lee nodded.

"Yup, so that's that," Lee said. "Lily then tried one last time and said that I was a convicted killer, but thankfully I had told them."

"Yeah, I had no problem with Lee then," Kenny replied. "If I had heard it from Lily the first time, I would have gotten mad. He was taking care of a little girl and for him to conceal that? Yeah, I'm glad you to told me."

"I had my doubts, but Carley convinced me. She was a huge help."

"Heh," Kenny agreed. "A really good shot too. Anyways, we get back in the RV, but there's this huge train that is blocking the path so we decide to stay until we figure out how to get the train moving. Lee goes to check on the train while the rest of us sits down and relaxes."

"It's Kenny, Clementine, Katjaa, Duck, Ben and me," Lee said. "Everyone from the group we met at the pharmacy is gone," Lee continued. "I check inside the train and notices that someone might have been living in there. The train had a map that went all the way to Savannah and the train was working."

"Hell, I've never felt happier," Kenny smiled. "Besides finding the boat in the shed, finding the train was a dream come true. So we're in the front thinking about how to work this train and then this genius right here figures how to start the damn train. I mean, how crazy is that?"

"The instructions were left out in the open," Lee explained. "The page was torn off, but there was still a crease of it, so using the leaf rubbing technique I learned from Clementine, we managed to get it to work."

"Leaf rubbing?" Nick asked.

"Clem?" Lee looked at her.

"Yeah. Basically, you take a leaf and you put in under a paper. You then use your crayon or whatever to color over it and you'll be able to draw the patches of the leaf on the paper," Clementine explained.

"Ah, leaf rubbing," Walter smiled. "I can remember it so well."

"I learned it in school," Clementine replied.

"Well, that certainly helped, didn't it?" Matthew asked.

"It sure did," Clementine and Lee chorused together, earning chuckles.

"The train starts, but as it starts to pull away, it is held back by dead weight attached to it," Lee said. "Thankfully, the lurch had weakened it so I used a tool to pry it apart. I head back to the front where Kenny is, but I'm greeted by this old homeless man named Chuck. He's a really good guy."

"Chuck was nice," Clementine smiled. "He gave me candy."

"Candy?" Carlos asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It wasn't poison or anything," Clementine immediately replied. "He played the guitar well too."

"If I was offered candy by some random strangers, I wouldn't take it," Luke chuckled.

"There's that kind of fear," Kenny agreed. "I'm glad it wasn't poisoned. As we got to know Chuck more, we figured him to be a decent man. We invited him to our crew and we took off. Unfortunately, Duck isn't feeling well and my wife knows it is time."

"Katjaa told me to convince Kenny to stop the train," Lee winced.

"I was in a shitty mood, you know?" Kenny sighed. "I...when Lee tried to convince me, I lashed out at him. I was in denial...and...but, he showed kindness and patience to me. I wanted to pick a fight with him. I wanted to give him every excuse to hit me so I can hit back, but Lee talked to me as a friend. I realized how much of a shithead I had been. Lee soon figured out why I was like this. I felt like I was being cursed. Since I couldn't save Hershel's son, I thought there would be no way this world would save mine."

"Kenny, you know that's not how it works," Matthew gently said. "Everything happens for a reason. You can't beat yourself up for it."

"That's what Lee said," Kenny gave a bitter chuckle. "I know. I was being..."

"You were being human," Carlos said. "We sometimes hope that by not accepting the cold hard fact, it'll cruise on by...that there will be a solution. We are only prolonging it in our minds and once the reality hits, it will be like a very hard slap in the face."

"I just wish...why did have to be at that time?" Kenny asked. "If he didn't get bit and he didn't have to...Katjaa would..."

Most people were curious as to how Katjaa died, especially Sarita, but they knew that it wasn't appropriate to ask.

Kenny knew about how curious they were and he decided to help them out.

"She...couldn't bring herself to bring Duck," Kenny gasped, shaking and seething. "She...ended her life before she could kill Duck."

"Oh Kenny," Sarita gasped, putting a hand over her mouth, unaware of the tears that were falling.

"It was the worst day of my entire life," Kenny shook his head, fighting back the tears. "The woman I loved so dearly...the son I had loved so dearly taken away from me...because of the bandits that attacked...because of, because of..."

He was this close to cursing out Ben and going on a pure rage rampage against him, but he remembered what Clementine had said. He remembered looking into her eyes and receiving a genuine smile from her. He wouldn't be here if Lee wasn't with him. He didn't know what he would've done. He probably would have gotten himself killed.

"That is truly tragic," Matthew said with sorrow. "You must have been through a lot."

"She told me that she loved Duck more than life itself," Kenny said. "I should've seen the warning signs...but how could she? She knew damn well she'd be leaving me also...she..."

Kenny was shaking as the tears were once more threatening to overcome him.

No one said anything but gave Kenny comforting looks.

"I'm not a mom yet, so I can't say much, but what I know is that a child of the mother is her greatest treasure," Rebecca said. "The child was born from the mother...that child is a wonderful miracle of life, and losing someone who you personally had in you can cause a massive wreck. You can't blame her for that. It was very hard for her to do that because she had you in her life. I'm sure she was forever grateful for you, okay Kenny? Don't start asking these questions. They are only going to leave you confused and angry."

"I'm a dad and I love Sarah with all my heart. I'd protect her with my life and I'd do it in a heartbeat and that's just me," Carlos replied. "My wife loved...she absolutely loved Sarah. She would never leave her out of her side and from how she acted, it looked like she loved Sarah more than me. But, who could blame her? I know she loved me dearly also. You hear stories about how a mother's life has done a total 180 after they have a child. Most mothers would give their lives in a heartbeat for their children. Kenny, no one deserves to go through that, but you have all of us now. We all are in it together."

"Hell, after how I treated you, I don't deserve any of this," he said, wiping a single tear that escaped. "Damn tears trying to fuck with me."

"It's all good man," Nick smiled. "You're not a bad person. You have a good side to you. I can see it."

"Heh, thanks, kid. Thanks guys, I feel better now."

Everyone gave Kenny words of encouragement.

"Hey, I know I went through hell, but I'm sure some of you went through worse so stop kissing my ass okay?" Kenny asked.

"Kenny. Stop being rude!" Sarita reprimanded.

"Sorry, Rita. I'm kidding Y'all."

Clementine rose up and gave Kenny a huge hug, which he returned.

"Aw," Kenny smiled. "Thanks, Clem."

She nodded as she sat back down, earning a huge smile from Lee.

"Lee offers to put my son down and he does it himself. Bless him for that," Kenny sighed. "Feeling miserable as ever, we continue on. Our luck turns worse, or so I thought, when we approached a bridge that had a gas tanker dangling from it. No way that train could pass unless we ram it. If we did, we'd all die. Thank God I didn't choose to do that. At my mental state, I might have, but I'm not that stupid."

"Let me take it from here Ken," Lee smiled. "Before we were stopped by the gas tanker, I saw Clementine sitting down sadly. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that Chuck had come up to her and told her that she was going to end up like Duck...dead."

"Wait, what?" Kenny asked.

"Relax Kenny," Lee tried to calm him down. "I was at first angry like you were and when I confronted Chuck, he brought up a good point. Clementine did not know how to shoot a gun and she had her hair long. Also, we didn't have a plan once we reached Savannah. Chuck said that I needed to teach her to shoot a gun. I thought it was preposterous, but he was right."

"Yeah, as ugly as it is, the kid needs to learn how to shoot a gun. How else is she going to defend herself?" Pete asked.

"Right," Lee nodded. "And he said to cut her hair short in case the walkers handled that. He's right about that also and how we both need to sit down together and hash a plan."

"I agree with the hair," Alvin said.

"After all, when Danny or Andy or one of those turds grabbed her hair like that...if a walker did that, man..." Kenny shook his head. "We can't have a sweet girl like her end up like that."

"Also, a plan is necessary, otherwise, you won't know what to do once you reach your destination," Walter helpfully added. "As hard as Chuck may have interpreted that, he had a point."

"Okay, now I don't want to rip his throat out," Kenny smiled. "So, you cut her hair and taught her how to shoot?"

"Yep, and don't forget about discussing a plan," Lee said. "She caught on shooting really well. I put a glass bottle on a crate and helped her steady the gun. I covered her ears and told her to aim higher or lower, to the left or to the right. She missed the first one, but she nailed the next two perfectly."

"My hand hurt after the first shot," Clementine winced, massaging her wrists.

"Yeah, and I bet your ass hurt after you fired that rifle," Nick smirked.

Clementine gave him a look as she shook her head.

"At least she had the balls to shoot that rifle unlike you," Pete replied. "'Please don't make me shoot it, Uncle Pete. I don't wanna shoot it.'"

Clementine had to burst out laughing as Lee soon followed.

"What? What? What's so funny?" Kenny asked.

"Nothing! I have no idea why they are laughing," Nick growled.

"Sorry Nick," Lee finished up. "So yeah. I also ended up cutting her hair."

"It was terrible. I looked like a boy," Clementine said.

"Hey, I'm not a barber, okay?" Lee asked. "And I never focus much on my hair. Luke, you on the other hand and Carlos, you must have really done something to get your hair like that."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Luke questioned, crossing his arms. "Why do I have a feeling you insulted me?"

"I didn't insult you Luke," Lee replied. "It's just that your hair isn't as simple as mine or Alvin's."

"Yeah, I get it."

"On the train is when Ben confessed about what had happened to me," Lee said. "He felt really bad. Apparently, the bandits threatened him and said they'd kill us all if Ben didn't slip the supplies. Kenny, what Ben did might be sacrilegious to you, but he could have been saving us all."

"I don't wanna hear about that," Kenny replied, "At least not until later."

Lee nodded. "So, with the train stopped, we must find a way to get across. Kenny and Chuck get into an argument, and that draws the attention of..."

"Walkers?" Nick asked, guessing. "Right? You get ambushed by walkers."

"We do, but later on," Lee replied. "The walkers followed the train sounds to us, but we were found by two people name Christa and Omid."

Clementine smiled at the thought of them but frowned when she remembered what had happened to them.

"The two you said who was heading up north to Wellington with you?" Luke remembered.

"Yep, that's them," Lee nodded. "They made sure we weren't trouble to them. We decided to cut the tanker down so we can proceed on. Clementine had a talk with Christa while I head over to the warehouse to find something to cut the tanker down and Clementine comes with me. We head in when I'm ambushed by two walkers. I kill one of them, but the other almost overpowers me. Guess who kills the second."

"Clementine?" Luke asked.

"Damn," Kenny whistled as Lee nodded. "Your first gunshot against a walker and you manage to blow his head off. Niice!"

Clementine just smiled. "Well, I was ambushed by another walker in there and Lee saved me."

"That's what we do," Lee chuckled. "Clementine and I find a blowtorch and with Omid's help, we manage to cut down the tanker. Thousands of walkers catch up to us and we are forced to run. The train moves on while Omid and I are still stuck up on the bridge. We both jump and I manage to make it on top, but Omid doesn't. He falls down hard and injures his leg."

"Just like you Lee," Clementine said, remembering when Lee first found her with a busted leg.

"Yeah, just like me. So we pull him up and we ride off into the sunset," Lee smiled. "Or that's how I wish it happened."

"Heh, at the front of the cab, Clementine was asleep and we found her radio go off," Kenny replied. "This stranger speaks and says that he has Clementine's parents with him and she better come find him or else...it sounded like a threat. We were both shocked."

Clementine shook her head, feeling really angry with herself. She regretted ever talking to that stranger and being fooled by his lies.

"Clementine, don't worry okay? It's just the past," Lee reassured. "I don't want you to feel bad about yourself...and I don't want you to think it's your fault."

"But it is my-"

"What did I say Clementine?" Lee asked.

"Why are you passing this so lightly?" Clementine couldn't help but to ask. "Why are you speaking as if this wasn't a big deal? I made a huge mistake Lee. I listened to the stranger and put all our lives in danger. Why aren't you really mad at me for that? I know I'd be..."

"Do you want me to be mad at you?" Lee incredulously asked.

"I did something really stupid and I regret it so much. I thought...when you told me Kenny was no more...I thought it was all my fault and I felt, I still feel very bad," Clementine unhappily sighed.

"You learned from your mistake, right?" Matthew asked as Clementine nodded. "You're never going to do that again, right?"

"Absolutely not," Clementine shook her head. "I already have a...a...father...ly figure."

Lee smiled.

"Then, you learned your lesson. You made a mistake and you learned."

"You are stronger tha before because of your mistake," Walter continued. "You learned that it hurt you badly and you won't do it again. I think that's a mistake well learned."

"If you keep looking at the what ifs and what could have been's, then you will always feel miserable," Carlos explained. "You must stop beating yourself up for that. If Lee and Kenny forgave you, you should forgive yourself."

"Yep. You were always forgiven. I saw a girl who wanted her parents back. Hell, if I were you, I'd definitely take my chances with the stranger who had my family," Kenny said. "Well, if I were your age."

"You see how everyone is supporting you Clementine?" Rebecca asked. "In this case, don't push your doubts further. Smile, say thank you, and move on."

"You may not be able to truly move on in your heart, but if you keep trying, you'll manage well," Alvin grinned.

"Th-thanks guys. I appreciate all your support," Clementine replied, a wave of emotion suddenly surrounding her. They all cared. They all wanted to see her succeed. She was only making it worse on herself by indulging in her self pity.

"Great, I'm glad we came to that resolution," Lee smiled. "And that was the most interesting thing that happened. After that, the trip to Savannah was normal. Nothing extraordinary happened and we made it. We soon took to the streets, trying to look for a place to rest up and a boat."

"A boat?" Luke asked.

"Ah, the damn boat...the bane of my existence," Kenny gave a chuckle. "That old thing didn't help us at all! Most were stripped of parts, and that one boat we found that worked was fucking stolen. The boats hated me I swear. Maybe it's because I killed a lot of sea creatures. I'm a commercial fisherman if you were wondering."

"When supplies are running low, the batteries on the boat can be of real value," Matthew nodded. "I'm sure nearly all of them were like that."

"Yep...and it was done by none other than Crawford," Kenny said. "Next, we have Crawford. That's another chapter in my life that I wish didn't happen."

"Crawford," Pete muttered.

"The place you told us about, right?" Alvin asked.

"Woah, you told them about Crawford?" Kenny turned to Lee.

"Yeah, when we were having food," Lee nodded. "This all started when we heard some bells ring at Savannah. The bells were near us and the walkers were attracted to the noise. We rushed out of the streets and found a home we could stay. We entered and it seemed safe enough. Kenny checked the upstairs and what he saw really did something to him."

"Wh-what'd you find Kenny?" Clementine asked. "She didn't know about this."

Kenny winced. "I saw a young boy who looked so much like Duck who was a walker. That kid was skinny as hell. His bones were showing...it was obvious he starved to death."

"Dehydration probably got to him first," Lee gently replied.

"That's terrible," Rebecca winced, putting her hand on her head. "That's one of the worst ways to go...starving...dying of hunger or thirst."

"That is truly tragic," Carlos nodded.

"That could have been me," Clementine shuddered. "I would have either starved to death or died while trying to get food and you know it's true so don't tell me to not say that."

Lee who was about to, didn't, seeing the look from Clementine. "I'm glad I found you."

"Yeah, me too."

"Look on the bright side Clem, at least you weren't the one dead set finding your parents," Kenny said. "I was dead set on finding a boat and that didn't help matters. I learned from my mistake, so I'm not sweating it anymore."

"You're not going to let me live that down, are you?" Clementine asked.

"As long as you keep blaming yourself, I'm going to keep saying this," Kenny chuckled.

"That's reassuring..."

"Deal with it Clem. You'll look back when you're older and say...Kenny was right," Kenny smiled.

"Yeah, that you all were right," Clementine smiled back. She wouldn't forget this.

"This was a good idea Walter," Luke applauded. "I'm seeing them in a different light now."

"And so am I," Sarita replied. "I'm also glad we're doing this."

"It's great I guess," Nick shrugged.

"Well, I'm glad you folks are enjoying this, but we need our rest. After Lee finishes his story, then we can call it a night today. Does that sound good?" Walter asked.

Clementine yawned. "Ah, yeah, that sounds perfect."

Everyone laughed.

"You're free to head on up and sleep if you want," Walter said.

"I think I'm fine," she replied laying her head on Lee. "This is the life."

"Hey don't get too comfy alright?" Luke asked. "If you do, you're going to make all of us fall asleep."

"Hey, I never set you couldn't sleep. Sleep if you want."

"Never in a million years would I have thought you'd speak to me like that," Luke said.

Clementine gave him a bored look. "Honestly I'm pretty tired, but I want to still finish up the story. Lee, can you continue?"

"Of course hon," Lee gave a smile and prepared to finish off his story with everyone listening intently or in Clementine's case...half heartedly.


	12. AN: Update

**A/N: Sorry I've been inactive. Life got in the way, but most situations have been settled, so please expect an update this week. Sorry to keep you guys waiting and in the dark. Thanks for your patience. Love you.**


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